Godly Wife Insurance
by D.Minx
Summary: Mid-quel between P.o.P & D.H.L: It's Hades and Persephone's first anniversary and everything is perfect... at least it is until Persephone discovers Hades has a back-up wife.. \my version of the tale of Minthe/ ... rated T as it gets a little dark..
1. An Unacceptible Joke

_Heya peeps, this short fanfic happens in between P.o.P and D.H.L… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (Unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: if you haven't read P.o.P you might get confused later on… enjoy and please review.._

* * *

_**Godly Wife Insurance**_

_**Chapter One:**__**An Unacceptable Joke**_

Persephone sighed wistfully as she brushed her long blonde hair, today was the first day of the harvest season but more importantly, today was also her first wedding anniversary. Just thinking about it brought out all those fluttery butterflies in her stomach… _a whole year.. _it had been a year to the very day that she and Hades had descended into the Underworld and got hitched in a _very_ intimate ceremony… the memories of that magical evening still sent shivers down the young goddess' spine. Persephone smiled tenderly as she set down her brush and picked up her cherry lipstick. She had been Hades' wife for a whole year and she'd loved every minute of it. And to celebrate their first anniversary the rulers of the Underworld had decided to return to the restaurant by the Elysian Fields where they had gone on their first date… Persephone finished applying her make-up and smiled widely at her reflection in the mirror, she then picked up her bottle of home-made perfume and spritzed on a generous dose. She was going to knock her husband dead tonight, and with the imps taking care of business there would be no distractions of any kind… Persephone's wide green eyes narrowed playfully …tonight was _definitely_ going to be a night to remember…

Persephone then turned away from the small dresser and gazed around the room that had once been hers all that time ago when she had first arrived in the Underworld. It hadn't changed at all in two years, the queen-sized bed was still there and her purple chitons hung abandoned in the tiny wardrobe by the far wall. The goddess however now felt that the room was pokey in comparison to the large suite she shared with her husband, who was getting ready for their night out in it just now. It had been her idea to get ready in separate rooms. She wanted tonight to feel just like it had when they had first started out.

At the same moment next door Hades hummed cheerfully to himself as he slapped on the Old Spice. _A whole year_… one whole fabulous year of married life to one of the two best-looking goddesses in the cosmos. Damn, he'd really fallen on his feet after that big mess with the Titans three years ago and thanks to his smart, beautiful wife he didn't have to spend eternity trying to suck-up to Bolt Boy just to be able to get back on the stupid cloud… not that he really cared about Olympus any more, it was just a barren fluffy waste of space. At least the Underworld was _interesting_, even if it did drive you to the point where you could mentally and physically combust. But life in the big gloomy basement was easier by far to deal with when you weren't alone, as long as Persephone was by his side for the rest of eternity Hades felt he could handle anything the souls, or the Fates, could throw at him….

The fiery god then checked his reflection in the mirror, he'd chosen to wear a deep navy tunic under his usual black chiton, since this was such a special occasion this called for one of his best outfits. _Married_, the fiery god shook his flaming head with amusement. Before Persephone had come along Hades would never have considered sharing the Underworld.. Tartarus, he wouldn't have even given it up to Hecate if he _had_ taken Olympus, which he was so glad he didn't win now. _All those clouds? _Sheesh, it would have driven him nuts.. just like it did to that jerk Cronos. He was so glad he had been raised by Erebus, at least he had been a decent father and Hades was proud to be his son.

Once the Lord of the Underworld was satisfied that he was looking his best he vanished in a curl of smoke and reappeared next door standing directly behind his wife. He was so close he could smell the intoxicating smell of her flowery perfume. Hades' eyes narrowed as he drunk in the heavenly scent of his wife and slid his arms around her middle. Persephone's cherry coloured lips curved into a serene smile as she caught sight of her husband smirking lazily behind her and lent against him with her head on his shoulder. The young goddess then closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly enjoying the security that being in her husband's arms brought her. Hades' smirk widened considerably as he held his wife then he leaned in towards her.

'Y'know, we could always just stay in and celebrate our anniversary.' His voice purred in her ear causing Persephone to make a small noise of amusement in the back of her throat. Without even opening her eyes she reached up and ran a dainty white hand over Hades' long jaw.

'I think we should go out..' She sounded softly and Hades kissed her cheek.

'Lady's choice..' He smiled.

* * *

The restaurant hadn't changed much since Persephone had last been there, it was pretty much as she remembered it. Hades had made sure that they got the same booth they had got the first time, it was pretty easy when you were the lord and master of the domain the restaurant was built in. They had spent most of the evening just reminiscing about how far they'd come in, it seemed that they both had had pretty screwed up lives before they'd found each other..

'Y'know…' Persephone smiled blushing slightly. '-I uh… used to have this little crush on you after I first saw you at Peleus and Thetis' wedding..' The goddess confessed thinking that it wouldn't matter now that they were married.

Hades' brows raised at these words.

'Really?' He sounded surprised smiling slightly.

'Yeh..' Persephone then waved it off dismissively. '-but I was just a kid then so I doubt you'd have noticed me..'

'Probably not..' Hades agreed nodding thoughtfully as he took a long drag of his cigar. There was a lull in conversation as Persephone lit a cigarette and puffed away. After a little while the young queen smiled dreamily at her husband.

'What?' He raised his brows amused.

'Oh. It's nothing sweetie, just enjoy your stogie..' Persephone smiled sweetly feeling ridiculous.

'C'mon Sephy…' Hades drawled titillated by what his wife was thinking.

'Well..' Persephone giggled. '-this is probably gonna sound so silly but if somehow you died.. I think that would be it for me in the romance department-' The goddess paused thinking about it. '-but y'know what, that would be fine because the love we shared would sustain me for eternity..' The Goddess of Life looked misty-eyed as she clasped her hands together. Hades blinked confused by this sentiment then shrugged. Meh, a romantic gesture was a romantic gesture.

'So…' Persephone sounded keenly stubbing her cigarette in the ashtray and leaning into her husband. Hades blinked again looking lost.

'Huh?'

'What would you do if somehow I died?' The Goddess of Life probed smiling eagerly.

'Oh that's easy..' Hades sounded rolling his cigar between his fingers smirking lazily. '-I'd marry my back-up wife..'

For a long moment Persephone sat their with her jaw wide open in shock utterly gob-smacked by what her husband had just managed to say.

'What?' She finally managed to speak.

'Yeh, I have a back-up wife..' Hades sounded before sucking on his cigar and blowing out a large smoke ring.

'You have a..' Persephone sounded before the shock finally wore off and she glared at her husband. It was _only_ their one year anniversary and he was already planning his next wedding… the Goddess of Life seethed at the Lord of Underworld.

Hades merely smirked amused by the cute little scowl that was crossing his wife's face, she was so adorable when she was mad and she'd laugh when she realised this was all just some silly joke… heh, Persephone dying, that was killer material.

'Y_ou have a back-up wife!_' The Queen of the Underworld suddenly stood up shrieking as her blonde hair burst into furious flames. Hades' smirk dropped… or maybe not.

'Sephykins…' Hades sounded seriously stubbing out his cigar. '-let me explain this to you simply… none of this happens until you _die,_ and since you are _technically_ immortal you can't die so it's _never_ going to happen..'

'Who is she Hades?' Persephone folded her arms pouting crossly.

'Just some naiad called Minthe..' Hades sounded shrugging as though it didn't matter, which to him it really didn't because he had no intentions of getting hitched to her.

'Does she know?' Persephone's eyes narrowed furiously.

'Well yeh… heh, can't have a back-up wife if ya don't tell the back-up bride..' Hades started laughing. '-that's just stupid..' He sounded amused by her words.

'Wait a second..' Persephone sounded recognising the name. '-_Minthe!_ As in that little green-haired naiad from Elis on the south-coast of Greece?' She fumed thinking about that little home-wreaking nymph.

'Are you in love with her?' The words suddenly burst from her mouth in a furious rage.

'No..' Hades snorted rolling his eyes.

'Are you sleeping with her?' Persephone immediately asked and her sunshine flames flaring angrily.

'Pffft… who do ya think I am? Zeus?' Persephone scowled at his response so Hades added, '-Sephy, maybe you missed the part where I said: your _immortal_, you can't die!'

'Y'know what..' The Queen of the Underworld sounded irritably. '-I don't think I want to stay in a domain with someone who thinks I'm _replaceable!_' She screeched the last word before shocking her husband by vanishing in a swirl of angry orbs..

Seph?' Hades sounded before suddenly realising what Persephone meant. 'Holy Nyx!'

* * *

Pain and Panic were stood outside the bedroom door of Hades and Persephone listening with nervous expressions.

'There arguing…' Panic sounded anxiously.

'I hate it when they fall out..' Pain sounded sadly.

Inside the bedroom the Queen of the Underworld had just orbed a large trunk onto the huge sleigh-bed…

'You can't leave!' Hades bellowed to his wife but Persephone merely scowled at the fiery god before opening the lid of her trunk and orbing some clothes and personal knick-knacks into it before slamming the lid shut.

'Just you try and stop me!' She sneered nastily at him before turning to the door and opening it, finding both the imps stood there looking unsurely at her.

'Panic..' Persephone sounded sweetly to the tiny green imp. '-be a dear and go to mother's and warn her that we are coming to stay for a little while…'

'Right away Miss Persephone..' The green imp sounded beaming toothily before vanishing on the spot.

'Hey!' Hades snarled. 'You can't just run off with my minion!'

'I'm the Queen of the Underworld. They're my minions too!' Persephone snarled. 'And I'm staying at mother's until you realise just how much you've hurt me!' She sniffed before turning to Pain who was looking at her distraught. 'Be a good boy Pain.. hopefully we'll be back soon..' The without a word the young goddess gripped her trunk and vanished in a swirl of white orbs..

'Goodbye your attractiveness.. I'll miss you..' The chubby pink imp wiped the tears away from his small eyes.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody… I know, I know I just started D.H.L but I really wanted to write this myth about Minthe in a little short story which happens in-between my full-length stories… I'm really excited about this because it's going to show a real marital issue between Hades and Persephone…_

_I got the idea for this story from American Dad, and I thought it was exactly the kind of thing Hades would do and the more I thought about the story the more I grew excited about it…_

_I loved how in the series Pain and Panic saw Hades as a father figure and used this to create their reaction to the gods separating… please review.._

_Thanks for reading…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy xXx_


	2. An Unbearable Situation

_Heya peeps, this short fanfic happens in between P.o.P and D.H.L… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (Unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: if you haven't read P.o.P you might get confused later on… enjoy and please review.._

* * *

_**Godly Wife Insurance**_

_**Chapter Two:**__**An Unbearable Situation**_

Hades roared with fury and shot a torrent of fire at the nearest object, which just happened to be his scale model of the worlds that made up the cosmos. All three levels of it were blasted off and the badly charred pieces left of it were lying around the throne room. The irately red-skinned god didn't care, he merely kicked the burning debris and charred rubble out of his way as he stalked onwards. It had been three days since Persephone had stormed out of the Underworld and Hades was still fuming over it.

_Dammit_, he was furious at her for leaving, he was furious that she had the nerve to take one of his minions with her and he was furious at the fact that she hadn't realised that the whole back-up wife thing had just been a joke in the first place… Hades suddenly stopped pacing as his golden eyes widening at the sudden realisation that had hit him… a joke, it had been a stupid reckless joke, and it had cost him the best thing to ever enter his immortal life… Hades' skin returned to blue as he suddenly felt hollow and depressed… his wife was gone, she'd really gone…

…A few hours later Pain peeked his head into the throne room to check on the boss. He really had a problem that Hades needed to resolve but had been waiting for the flames to settle. With Panic away with their queen the pink imp had been forced to do both his and Panic's jobs but was finding it hard coping with the extra workload… he really needed a temporary partner who could help him out until this whole issue between the Boss and the Boss-Lady was resolved… until now there was no way in Tartarus he was going to ask Hades, he'd have been blasted into the far wall just for interrupting his boss's thoughts.. But now everything seemed quiet.

He pink imp picked his way carefully through the wreckage of charred and burning remains that were still littering the floor from earlier, Hades still hadn't bothered to clean them up from his tantrum. There was a deep heaving sigh from up ahead that caused Pain to feel a little nervous, the pink imp moved cautiously to the edge of the chessboard as there was still a chance to be flamed just for interrupting. Taking a deep cleansing breath the pink imp then peeped around the corner of the chessboard and saw the most alarming sight he'd ever seen…

Hades was slouched down so low in his throne he could slide off it any moment, his eyes were narrowed and vacant while the god gave off a distraught and cheerless appearance. Clearly the boss was pining for his wife but this wasn't what was bothering Pain… what was concerning the imp was how Hades was dealing with this issue. Pain still wasn't clear on the details of why Miss Persephone had left but he was quite sure this was one of those problems that could be resolved by a simple apology… too bad his boss was far too bone-headed and stubborn to apologise right away. However the pink imp knew one thing, that alcohol was definitely not going to solve his boss' problem. Pain eyed the half-empty bottle of bourbon warily, it was no secret that Hades was a very volatile drunk and was prone to be argumentative… on the plus side however, if the imp could get his boss to explode into a towering inferno of rage he would sober up instantly as the alcohol in his system boiled. Pain winced at the thought of the blindly excruciating torment that he would have to endure just to allow his boss to sober up, on second thoughts… he'd risk a drunken boss..

* * *

Hades didn't even see the imp approach the throne, he merely took a swig of the bottle in his right hand and sighed, closing his eyes briefly before reopening them slightly.

'Um, I'm sorry to intrude on your wallowing your wretchedness..' Pain sounded nervously as Hades blinked several times as though trying to wake up. Then the fiery god sat up slightly and squinted at the imp trying to focus on him.

'Whadda _you_ want..' Hades slurred moodily as he finally managed to determine who the wobbly pink blob in front of him was.

'Uh..' Pain sounded momentarily distracted as Hades took another swig still focusing bleary-eyed on him. '-don't you think you've had enough?' The words came out before the imp had realised what he'd said. The fiery god flared briefly irritated, unfortunately not enough to sober him up.

'You…' Hades paused briefly then scowled and continued to slur, '-_you're_ not my mother, I'll tell _you _when I've had enough..' He nodded as though this statement was final and Pain rolled his eyes half-heartedly at his boss' intoxicated words… _Ohh kay then_…

'Well anyway your surliness..' Pain sounded nervously twisting his tail and sweating profusely. '-the thing is, now that Panic is up on the surface with the Boss-Lady I'm having a little trouble keeping up with the workload around here-'

'Uhh..' Hades groaned impatiently slumping back in his throne heavily.. '-is this going anywhere or are you just tryin' to give me a migraine?'

'I need some help-' The pink imp started but Hades cut him off with a weary sigh.

'Fine, fine, fine… I'll assign ya a temporary partner if it'll shut your yap..' The fiery god sounded moodily as though he were being put-upon. Then he sat up in his throne and thought for a moment, this in itself was impressive considering his inebriated state.. Suddenly a lopsided smirk appeared on the fiery god's face and he snapped his fingers.

The next second a small yellow imp with purple eyelids and a quiff of orange hair appeared, he was shaking so hard his orange hair was malting.

'There ya go…' Hades snickered amused by the horrified look on Pain's face. He then swayed in the direction of the yellow imp and blinked before focusing on the skinny yellow blur beside the wobbly pink blob. 'Neurosis, you'll be filling in for Panic..' He sounded decisively. '-any questions ya got, direct 'em to your partner cause I don't give a _damn_!' Hades declared angrily them took another swig of alcohol.

'Well… gee… what an honour…' Neurosis stuttered glancing nervously at the drunken Hades who had returned to his bottle of bourbon. '-I… I guess you must really have some faith in me… which is ok I guess… but what if I screw up… then you'll punish me… how do I deal with the pressure…' The yellow imp began to hyperventilate.

'But…' Pain sounded staring at Neurosis in disbelief. '-he's a mess..'

'So…' Hades slurred turning back to the wobbly pink blob. '-ya wanted a partner and now ya got one.'

'Yeh, but..' Pain repeated causing Hades' skin to flash orange.

'_Get out!_' The fiery god roared causing both Neurosis and Pain to jump and shoot out of the throne room. Hades then slouched so far down his throne he was practically falling off, he then sighed heavily. 'Oy… minions..'

* * *

'Sheesh, what's with the boss?' Neurosis sounded as the two imps stopped for breath. 'You'd think that he'd just lost the entire cosmos or somethin'..'

'Hey!' Pain scowled rounding on the yellow imp. 'Go easy on Hades! He's been having a rough time since Miss Persephone left..'

'Oh..' Neurosis' eyes widened in surprise. '-so that's why I haven't seen her around recently.. why'd she leave?' Pain picked up the two clipboards from the chessboard and passing Panic's clipboard to his new yellow-skinned partner.

'I dunno but it sounded like a pretty serious argument and the Boss is still really cut up about it..' He sounded before scanning the list of jobs that needed to be done.

'So.. she might not be comin' back then..' Neurosis said.

'What?' Pain sounded confused.

'Look, the Boss-Lady's ok but if she can't handle the Boss now, what chance does their marriage really have…' Pain shook his head with disbelief.

'You don't know Miss Persephone like I do… now quit messin' with my head we got jobs to do..' The pink imp then yanked Neurosis by the wrist down the stairs to the docks by the Styx.

* * *

Demeter paced her kitchen worried as Panic sat on the table, his large yellow bug-eyes following the green-skinned goddess anxiously. It had been three days since Persephone had arrived at her mother's house on Sicily, brimming with tears and wailing about Hades and some nymph from Elis on the south coast of Greece. After getting what information she could out of Panic, who assumed it must have been one of the Boss' jokes that backfired, the Goddess of Nature tried her best to comfort her broken-hearted child… but after three days of trying to convince Persephone that gods were idiots and that she should return to the Underworld and talk to Hades Demeter was starting to give up hope..

'What are we going to do?' She sighed heavily slumping into a chair and gazing sadly at the imp in front of her.. 'She can't stay in her grove sulking forever..'

'Maybe Hermes could talk some sense into her?' Panic suggested shrugging in a 'he is her best friend' kind of way. Demeter looked at the imp for a moment in shock, of course.. it was so blooming obvious, why hadn't she thought of it before?

'Oh Panic..' She squealed grabbing the stunned imp and hauling him into a bone-wrenchingly tight hug. '-that's a wonderful idea..' The Nature Goddess beamed ignoring Panic's writhing as he struggled to get out of this suffocating cuddle.

'Ack..' Panic's eyes bulged in agony at the tightness of the embrace, how did Miss Persephone put up with them. '-no problem Ma..' The Nature Goddess had insisted the imps call her 'Ma', the same with Hades… she wanted them all to be one great big happy family.

'And while Hermes comforts Persephone I'll go and see if Hera has any ideas on how to fix their marriage..' She beamed suddenly letting got of the imp, who coughed and spluttered trying to get some air into his lungs. The Nature Goddess then stood up smiling and called out,

'Hermes darling, would you come down here a moment..' There was silence for a few seconds then the sound of fluttering winged-sandals and a blue blur shot into the kitchen.

'Hey there Spring-Mama what's shaken?' Hermes sounded cheerfully as he skidded to a halt beside the green-skinned goddess.

'It's Persephone dear..' Demeter sighed. '-it seems she and Hades are having a little tiff-'

'The Deadly Double-Act are having marital issues already?' Hermes asked looking stunned at Demeter who nodded regretfully.

'My little Cora's been moping ever since she got here, do you think you could be dear and go talk to her while I go speak with Hera and see if she has any thoughts on how to patch things up between them..'

'Sure..' Hermes sounded before adding sympathetically, '-gee, poor Seph… I mean I know the H-Man can be a bit of a jerk sometimes but they always seemed so solid…'

'Tell me about it..' Panic sounded glumly as his horns drooped slightly.

'Aww cheer up little guy..' Hermes nudged him with a smile. '-I'm sure Hades'll schmooze her back home in no time..'

'I hope so..' The green imp sounded, starting to feel a little home sick.

'That's the spirit..' Demeter trilled snapping her fingers causing a large orange tulip to grow out of the floor of her kitchen, she climbed aboard. '-think I'll just send a little something down to the Underworld, let him know we're thinking of him..' She added twirling her wrist and causing a tiny green orb to drop through the ground. '-toodle-ooh my dears..' She then added waving them off cheerily and her large orange flower closed up, vanishing into the ground along with the Goddess of Nature herself..

'Gee..' Panic blinked as the goddess left. '-is she always this perky?'

'Heh, yeh…' Hermes drawled. '-why do ya think her and Seph are always falling out?'

* * *

Hades groaned in irritation as his head hammered like Hephaestus banging dents out of Athena's shield. The fiery god massaged his temples trying to ease some of the soreness.

'Aye-chi-ba-ba..' He uttered, wincing as he sat up a little straighter. '-I gotta lay off the booze..' Hades paused as a small green shoot started to grow out of the ground in front of him. He watched motionless as it grew into a long slim white flower with long drooping petals. The Lord of the Underworld's skin flared a nasty shade of red as he recognised the flower; a lily… it was a symbol of death. Probably one of Demeter's cheery little reminders that his marriage was finished.

Dammit, couldn't that interfering old hippie leave him to kvetch in peace..

Hades summoned a fireball intending to blast this 'gift' from his mother-in-law right off the stone floor of the Underworld. Then suddenly he stopped as something Persephone had once told him reappeared in his mind, lily's weren't just a symbol of death… they were a symbol of bereavement, of regret and sorrow… Hades suddenly returned to blue and snuffed his fireball now eyeing this lone white flower with sadness rather than anger.

Demeter felt sorry for him… maybe this meant that she was hoping he and Persephone could sort out their differences. The fiery Lord of the Underworld then lent forward and plucked the flower from the ground, twirling it in his long blue fingers as he slumped low in his throne with a heaving sigh… if only it were that simple.

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, I've been writing so many different things at once in my bid to finish off H.o.T.T, catch up with my long abandoned Harry Potter fic and plan out Jafar's last date that my mind has been going round the twist, thank god for Coca-Cola is all I'll say on that front… but anyway in the mist of it all I've managed to bring you another chap for G.W.I and the D.H.L update is almost there too so don't worry…_

_Ok, those of you who watched the Herc series will recognises Neurosis, he messed with Herc's head in Tiff on Olympus, I brought him back because I felt he would be the imp that Pain would least enjoy being paired up with. This way it's not just Hades and Seph who have been separated by this rift I wanted the imps to feel the strain of their separation too.._

_Please keep the reviews coming as they spur me on…_

_Take Care…_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy xXx_


	3. All this Fuss over One little Nymph

_Heya peeps, this short fanfic happens in between P.o.P and D.H.L… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (Unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: if you haven't read P.o.P you might get confused later on… enjoy and please review.._

_**Godly Wife Insurance**_

_**Chapter Three:**__**All this Fuss over One little Nymph**_

Panic lead Hermes through Persephone's Grove until they arrived at the clearing where the goddess herself was slumped under her usual willow tree looking far from her usual light-hearted self. The moment the Messenger God sat himself down beside her she let out a fresh wave of tears. Panic merely perched by his mistress, he felt sorry for her but had been unable to help her snap out of her misery.

'Oh Hermes..' Persephone wailed as the tears streamed down her face. '-how could he do this to me..' Her face was peachy and blotchy from crying, it was heart-wrenching. How could Hades upset Persephone, all she'd ever done was love him… and oh boy, had she loved him for the past fifty-odd years.. No matter how many times Hermes had tried to warn her off him by saying, 'He's bad candy babe, he'll only hurt ya..', she still loved him. Persephone really had been a teen goddess with a schoolgirl crush on the baddest deity around… and when Hermes had found them entwined together in the Grove of Lethe he was shocked, but as time went on it seemed Hades was as besotted with Persephone as she was with him…

'Ah c'mon Seph..' Hermes sounded wrapping his arms around the Goddess of Life trying to comfort her, Persephone merely clung to him as tears rolled down her cheek. '-I'm sure he didn't mean it, if you went down and talked to him..' The Messenger God spoke soothingly, he had a feeling Hades had meant this as a joke, after all the idea of a back-up wife was just so laughable… and besides, the Lord of the Underworld had such an obscure sense of humour and often was the only one who found his own jokes funny.

Persephone wrenched herself away from Hermes at these words scowling deeply, she looked almost as mad as she had been when she'd found out Adonis had been cheating on her..

'I am not going anywhere!' She screeched offended as her haired flared briefly. 'If anyone's going to do any crawling it's Hades!' The goddess then lent across and picked up a rather stunned Panic, who had been startled by her angry outburst, and began to pet him as though he were a cat. The young goddess' anger melted away as this seemed to soothe her and Panic then settled comfortably into her lap.

'I'm not setting foot back downstairs until he _proves_ he loves me..' The goddess added firmly while scratching Panic in between the horns. The green imp merely rolled his eyes at her words…_ well that was going to take forever_.. but the imp wisely chose not to voice his opinion. It was one thing to upset the boss but it was another thing entirely to upset the boss-lady and he much preferred it when Persephone wasn't annoyed with him.

Hermes sighed heavily but he knew that steely look in her eyes all to well, Persephone's mind was made up. The Messenger God hoped that Hades would come to his senses and apologize soon, before anything else upset the apple cart..

* * *

Meanwhile on Olympus Demeter had found her youngest sister Hera lounging in one of her favourite spots, she was near the top of the vast cloud in a small gazebo-type coliseum where the sun shone all day. The Goddess of Marriage was stunned to learn that Hades and Persephone were having marital issues so early on in their union but her surprise quickly turned to annoyance when the Queen of Olympus discovered the details behind the separation…

'Oh I should have guessed a nymph was involved!' Hera fumed thinking of her own husband and how many times in their marriage he'd slept with other women when they'd been going through a 'rough patch', but the Goddess of Marriage had always thought Hades would have more sense… after all he had done the sensible thing and waited for the right woman to come along. But clearly she was wrong, he was just another shallow cad.. it must be required trait of being a son of Cronos..

'Now Hera..' Demeter chided gently, knowing exactly what her little sister was thinking. '-don't you think your taking this just a little too personally?'

The Goddess of Marriage pouted irritably at the Goddess of Nature who was throwing her a typically 'firm big sister' look.

'No..' Hera folded her arms frowning stubbornly at her sister. '-besides this isn't about me it's about your daughter..' Demeter sighed heavily, softening at the thought of her distraught child.

'Your right..' She nodded in agreement. '-my poor baby has done nothing but mope around her grove ever since she's come up from the Underworld, isn't there any way you could go and talk to her.. I think this little spat with her husband is just a horrible misunderstanding..'

For a moment Hera sat musing on it, perhaps she should talk to Persephone. After all the young Goddess of Life was now her sister-in-law and she had barely spent any time with her since she'd married Hades.. The Goddess of Marriage had always chatted with Amphitrite her other sister-in-law and the two of them got on famously, perhaps it was time to extend that olive branch towards Persephone, if anything for the sake of cosmic unity..

'Of course I will Demeter. after all, it's my job..' She replied sweetly causing her sister to beam gratefully. '-who's with her just now?' Hera then asked knowing Demeter would never leave her daughter alone on Sicily at a time like this...

'Hermes and one of the imps that came up from the Underworld with her..' The Nature Goddess replied, she had been impressed that Hades had the sense to make sure Persephone didn't travel up alone… this didn't seem like the actions of a man having an affair on his wife.

Hera rolled her wide blue eyes in response to this… never leave a Messenger God to do a Marriage Goddess' job..

'Oh, then I better get down there right away..' The Queen of the Gods said resolutely then summoned a small white cloud around her feet then was about to fly off, like her husband usually did when he left to go anywhere, when a chubby green hand enclosed around her wrist.

'Now wait just one moment Hera..' Demeter sounded in a steely tone recognizing the determined look in her little sister's sky blue eyes. '-I know that look now promise me you won't turn this into a vendetta against Hades!' The Goddess of Nature frowned deeply.

'Ow..' Hera winced at the tightness of her sister's grip. 'Deme, your hurting me..' She whinged suddenly sounding like she had when the three sisters were little girls playing in Gaia's garden.

'I mean it Hera… I want you to promise me!' Demeter sounded sternly. 'My family has been through enough pain. I just want you to convince Persephone that this is a misunderstanding and that she should go home and face her husband like an adult!'

'Ok, ok Deme.. I promise!' Hera squealed, caving into Demeter just like when they were kids. The green-skinned goddess smiled, a little smugly, and released her little sister from her tight grip. Hera rubbed her hand and threw Demeter a petulant look, she always won out in the end.

'Well, I guess I better go and see Persephone..' The Queen of the Gods sighed. '-are you coming too?' She asked gently hoping not because her daughter might open up a bit more if she wasn't around..

'No..' sighed Demeter making Hera silently rejoice at this… no big bossy sister to poke her nose into the conversation. '-besides this is really between you and Persephone isn't it?'

'Yes..' Hera sounded in a gentle voice. '-I see you when I get back ok?'

'Of course..' Demeter smiled then watched her little sister leave with a heavy heart. It was no secret that Hera had been through the mill with Zeus… they may be happy at the moment but there had been so many dark points that they had been very lucky to last this long. The green-skinned goddess sighed heavily and prayed to Gaia that her little sister wasn't going to use her own personal experience as a campaign against Hades.

Funny, Demeter may not of approved of Hades when she had first found out her daughter was down in the Underworld with him, but after getting to really know the fiery god on his terms Demeter decided that Hades wasn't so bad and who knows, with some gentle chiding, he could be a great deity…

* * *

Hera's cloud touched down in the clearing of Persephone's gloomy little grove on Sicily causing Hermes, who had been running his fingers down Persephone's back in a soothing manner, to swivel and gawp in amazement. Panic too, who had been nestled into his queen's bosom, whipped his head around at the sight of Zeus' wife and stared, unable to speak.

'Hera…?' Hermes finally choked causing a blotchy tear-stained Persephone to jerk her head around in shock at the Goddess of Marriage who was standing smiling with a serene motherly smile at her… Great. More pity, just what she always wanted..

'Uh, if it's not too nutty to ask Hera, but uh… what are ya doin' here babe?' Hera pouted at him, clearly it was 'too nutty' to expect an answer..

'Hermes..' She sounded sweetly brushing off her moment of offence. '-it's my job to help married women isn't it?' He nodded and the goddess continued before he could say anything. '-so why don't you go down to the Underworld and find out how Hades is doing and leave me to console Persephone..' For a moment Hermes looked unsurely at the Queen of the Gods… he really didn't want to leave his best friend at a time like this but he was honour-bound to obey her, just as he was to Zeus..

'Well, if your sure Hera..' Hermes sounded gently detaching his arms from Persephone with an apologetic look. '-you gonna be ok hun?' He asked her gently.

Persephone nodded smiling slightly.

'I'll be fine Hermes besides, it'll be nice to talk to someone who understands my kind of hurt..' Hermes dithered, still unsure… yes, Hera did understand her kind of hurt, but Hera had also taken vindictive pleasure in her payback for it, all to teach Zeus a lesson of course…

'Here..' The Goddess of Life suddenly added holding out the green imp from her lap. '-take Panic with you, he can pick up any paperwork I've got plus..' She turned her gaze to the green imp who looked unsure about the whole thing. '-maybe he could spend a little time with Pain, I know he misses him..' Panic's eyes lit up at the mention of seeing his best buddy again.. Ok, so Pain was an idiot and a klutz but he sure missed the chubby pink git..

'Thanks Miss Persephone..' The green imp sounded smiling toothily for the first time since arriving on Sicily.. The young Queen of the Underworld smiled at him before he and Hermes zoomed off in a blue blur to the Underworld to check on Hades and Pain.. Once they were gone Persephone sighed heavily at the thought of retelling the story of her ditching her husband in the Underworld alone.

Hera nestled herself down beside the young goddess and took one of her dainty white hands in her slim lilac fingers. Persephone's wide green eyes suddenly flashed towards her filled with the sort of ache that the Goddess of Marriage recognised all to well… she didn't need to know the details of how it had happened, how many times had she been comforted by Hestia and Demeter when she'd found out that he'd been 'spending time' with other nymphs..

'Oh Persephone..' She sounded gently and quashing the sudden annoyance she felt towards Hades for hurting his wife and her niece. '-my dear, your not the first goddess that this has happened to..'

'But why… why would he do this..?' Persephone's words came out choked and the Goddess of Marriage felt the pity in her heart well up and overflow as she suddenly clutched her sister-in-law closely, the Goddess of Life hugged her back tightly feeling a fresh wave of tears and pain..

'Gods do some really stupid things dear, believe me I know..' Hera sounded darkly running her fingers through Persephone's soft golden hair.

For a moment there was silence, apart from Persephone's soft crying, as the two women sat there hugging each other…

'I still don't get it..' Persephone sounded softly, pulling away from Hera and wiping her tears away.

'-how could he hurt someone who loves him so..' Another single tear rolled down her cheek… she couldn't believe that only after two years Hades had been checking out the nymph talent. Of course 'talent' didn't describe her 'replacement' much… Minthe was nowhere near as pretty as she was, with her dark green hair, pale skin and inky eyes.. she was also very plain and willowy figured compared with Persephone's curvatious glory… why in Tartarus would Hades pick that skinny tramp to be her understudy? It made absolutely no sense at all!

Hera frowned as anger bubbled underneath her skin… Persephone was doing exactly the same thing she had done the first time she'd learnt of Zeus' deception, by crying… and what did crying solve? Nothing… Persephone needed to get proactive…

'Because he's a god, that's why!' Hera sounded firmly causing Persephone to look shocked at the Goddess of Marriage, definitely not what she expected to hear.. 'He hurt you and he'll keep hurting you if you don't lay down the line right now Persephone..' She sounded breathing heavily.

Persephone blinked unsurely, not knowing what to say..

'Listen to me, don't make the mistake I made all those years ago… don't just accept it and try to move on, it doesn't work..' Hera then gripped the Goddess of Life by the shoulders and shook her roughly. '-you need to remind Hades of who you are! You are his _wife_ and Queen of the Underworld and the best way to do that is by eliminating the threat..' Hera was looking at her with an unusually cool gaze. For a long moment Persephone stared with her jaw open.

'You… you want me to get rid off Minthe?' She sounded hesitantly.. 'But… she hasn't really done anything to me..' Persephone added looking slightly confused as to why Hera would want her to just kill the nymph off.

Hera snorted with derision at this and it didn't suit her..

'Oh don't kid yourself Persephone..' She sounded then wiped the tear that was stuck to Persephone's cheek and showed it to her. '-look what that nymph has done! She's already wedged herself between you and Hades, your up here crying because of her!'

The white-skinned goddess' eyebrows raised slightly… yes, that was true but still, the nymph had done nothing directly to upset her, it was Hades and leaving him for a few days to sulk was punishment enough… She was about to voice this when Hermes and Panic suddenly appeared out of a fluttering of winged sandals and blue blur.

'What are you doing here?' Hera hissed irritably glaring at them both. 'Your supposed to be in the Underworld with Hades!'

'Yeh, but we never made it that far..' Hermes replied then he paused and glanced at Panic who was on his shoulder, both beings exchanged a look of trepidation… clearly whatever had distracted them the two goddess' weren't going to like.. Persephone suddenly felt a tightness in her chest almost dreading to ask the question that they all knew was coming… Unfortunately Hera was not so scared of asking it..

'What distracted you?' She asked firmly folding her slim lilac arms across her pink chiton and throwing him a look that clearly said 'this better be good'.

Panic and Hermes exchanged another uneasy look.

'Well..' Panic spoke anxiously as his terrified eyes darted from Persephone to Hera. '-we were passing through Elis on our way to Hades when were heard… we heard..' The imp broke off quivering and unable to continue… he couldn't do it, not to Miss Persephone… he couldn't anger the one being in the cosmos he loved like a surrogate mother..

'You heard what?' Persephone spoke softly, unsure if she really wanted to hear this but she had a feeling that she needed to hear it..

Panic was shaking so hard with fear at what Persephone would do with the news that Hermes was forced to answer for him, but he too was not happy about being the barer of bad news..

'We heard Minthe talking..' Hermes sounded softly and both Hera and Persephone blinked stunned by this… what had the nymph been saying?

'Hermes…' Persephone sounded gently, finding herself clutching Hera's hand for support. '-please tell me what she said..'

'She said…' Hermes started then faltered before sighing heavily and tried again. 'She said now you and Hades have split up it's only a matter of time before he comes up for her..'

Persephone frowned with irritation.. They hadn't split up, she was only staying here until Hades apologized for being an idiot… it was entirely up to him when he decided to come grovelling and she could wait until next harvest if she had to.

'What else did she say?' Hera bristled with annoyance at this stupid nymph, she hated the idea of anybody daring to destroy the sanctity of marriage. Again both Panic and Hermes looked frightened as this time they had two glaring goddess' as an audience.

'-She also reckoned she could make a better Queen of the Dead than Persephone..' Hermes spoke hurriedly as though trying to soften the blow then winced, waiting for his best friend to explode… and Persephone did not disappoint.

The young goddess instantly dropped Hera's hand as her eyes narrowed into slits of loathing towards Minthe… _How dare that little tramp think she was better that her! Who was she? Nobody! _Persephone's hair suddenly burst into furious flames of sunshine gold.

'She said _what_?' Her livid voice screamed causing the ground in her grove to quake…

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody… I hope your all still enjoying the story, sorry No Hades in this section but it was pretty important to write this bit as there are two versions of the story of Minthe, one is the more popular version when Hades actually tries to seduce Minthe and Persephone catches them in the act… not the version I'm using because I actually don't give it much credit to be honest, besides doesn't fit in with how I imagine it… the other lesser popular version, which is the one I'm twisting right now.. is how Minthe was heard to be complaining about how Hades could be attracted to Persephone when she was so much better looking than her and got herself smote… lol silly nymph._

_I hope you don't mind me messing with Hera a little, she was always so plain in the series of Hercules but I wanted to link her a little more to her own myths and it seemed right to have the Goddess of Marriage play councillor to Persephone as she has experience with what Seph's going through.._

_Please review…_

_Take Care…_

_Love… Ditzy x x_


	4. There ain't Nothin like Underworld Lovin

_Heya peeps, this short fanfic happens in between P.o.P and D.H.L… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (Unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: if you haven't read P.o.P you might get confused later on… enjoy and please review.._

_**Godly Wife Insurance**_

**Chapter Four:There ain't Nothin' like Underworld Lovin'**

Deep below Gaia's surface Hades had long since abandoned Neurosis and Pain to do the Soul Count, much to a certain pink imp's dismay.. He'd only spent a day with the tall thin yellow imp but Pain would have happily smashed his head into the nearest sharpest object if he thought it would stop Neurosis messing with his mind.

'So..' Neurosis sounded turning to Pain who threw him a glare wishing he would just shut up. '-I guess we know which imp Miss Persephone would take with her if she and the Boss get a divorce.'

'Huh..?' Pain's face contorted into confusion. 'They're not getting a divorce..'

'Oh I'm just saying that now we know who her favourite is..' Neurosis responded causing Pain to scowl.

'Miss Persephone doesn't have a favourite..' He retorted hotly before he smiled in a smug fashion. '-she loves us equally, she even said it herself..'

'Oh sure she does..' Neurosis rolled his eyes with derision. '-that's why your down here and Panic's up there livin' it up with the nymphs..'

'For your information she picked Panic because she knows that I can handle the Boss' temper way better than he can..' There was a small hint of pride in the chubby pink imp's voice as this statement was true. A few hours alone in Hades' company would have left Panic in a gibbering mess on the floor, the skinny green imp was not very good at handling the stress without Pain or Persephone to help him calm down enough to get the job done… Pain sighed heavily, he really missed his anxious partner. Not only because he missed Panic's agitated whining but because he was also smarter and could explain things to Pain that he didn't get… Neurosis merely confused him further and as such jobs that normally took minutes were taking ages.. not that Hades seemed to care or notice if he was around, their boss was too busy pining for his wife.

'Well… if that's what you wanna believe..' Neurosis sounded in a hinting tone and this time Pain really did smash his head against the thick dark jetty post… he hoped Charon would bring some more souls over before he gave himself a concussion..

* * *

Hades trudged slowly through the Underworld towards his desired destination. His mind was a muddle of passed memories and feelings of guilt for driving his wife back to her mother's. Even this path he was taking now was steeped in memories:

_It had been a peaceful afternoon in the Underworld, one of those rare days when there was very little to do. The silent gloomy pathway was disrupted by the sound of thunderous paws and joyous barking as Cerberus bounded down the path…_

_A few seconds after the three-headed dog had passed there was a girly squeal of delight._

'_Wheee…. He-he..' Persephone was clinging to the leash of the middle head. Her long golden hair streaming behind her as she whizzed passed followed immediately by her husband who gave out a cry of alarm._

'_YaaaaaahhH!' Hades clutched both the remaining leads for dear life, then once he was secure his fiery head swivelled to his wife who was giggling again as she skied along. 'For the love of Erebus Seph stop encouraging him!' He bellowed sliding unsteadily still trying to dig his heels into the ground._

'_Oh sweetie just re-lax..' Came the gleeful response causing his eyes to roll._

'_Relax? Relax!' Hades sounded in alarm before retorting. 'Seph if I were anymore relaxed I'd be dead!'_

'_Uhh..' Persephone snorted with amusement. '-don't be such a drama-god..'_

Persephone's last words swirled his mind… _drama-god.. drama-god.. _Hades then shook his head and sighed with a heavy heart and carried on trudging down the path. He really missed Persephone, the Underworld just wasn't the same without her.. However he really needed some guidance, and there was only one place in the entire cosmos he could go to get that..

Hades stopped and looked up at the dark and imposing house he had grown up in, then the fiery god burst through the door yelling at the top of his lungs..

'_Moooom!_'

'I'm in the kitchen Hadiekins..' Nyx's soft voice called out and the fiery god flushed a slight pink shade at his mother's nickname.. shaking off the embarrassment Hades wandered down the hallway. He eventually became aware of the smell of freshly baked Apple Betty, usually the smell of his mother's baking had Hades drooling like a starving mortal offered a pita, but not today. The fiery god merely slumped in his usual seat at the breakfast bar and sighed heavily.

Nyx turned to face him looking concerned at the depressed face of her youngest and adopted son..

'What's the matter bube?' She asked while tenderly running her slim lilac-blue fingers through his flaming hair. The goddess then cut her son an exceptionally large piece of the Apple Betty and set it in front of him by a large fork with a carved bone handle.

Hades stabbed his fork into the Apple Betty slice moodily before examining the pudding and sighing again.

'Seph left me..' He uttered glumly before shoving the forkful of pudding into his mouth and chewing.

'Oh Hades..' Nyx sighed with concern sitting herself opposite him. '-what did you do?'

Hades who had been about to take another bite of pudding paused at these words before turning away from the fork and scowling at the Goddess of Night.

'Mom, why do ya always assume it's somethin' I've done..' He in a petulant tone and pouted irritably at his mother. Nyx merely raised her brows at him.

'Because usually it is..' She smirked, Hades had a knack for attracting trouble even without help from his sisters, the Fates, who were always leading her little bundle of flames astray..

With a heavy sigh the Lord of the Underworld then dropped his fork into his plate unable to eat anymore. Nyx blinked surprised by this, Apple Betty was Hades' favourite pudding. When her three daughters had told her this morning that their adopted brother would be visiting she had made it especially for him… her poor little Hades must _really_ miss his wife if he couldn't bring himself to eat his favourite food.

'Oh Hadiekins..' Nyx sighed sympathetically. '-sitting kvetching won't help, you've got to get off your tookus and go see you wife..' The Goddess of Night then frowned at Hades' half eaten Apple Betty. '-but not before you finish your pie mister.. oy vey, you know how much I hate leftovers..'

Hades rolled his eyes at these words then picked up his fork and shoved a mouthful of pudding in his mouth, just to keep her happy.. Once he'd finally finished his pudding Nyx smiled and reached over pinching his cheek.

'That's my little hamantaschen..' She cooed in a baby voice..

'Mo-_om_..' Hades whinged childishly while slapping her hand away, pulling a grimace at her fussing… _Sheesh, and Seph thought Demeter was embarrassing!_

'Evenin' all..' A chilly voice filled the air as the room itself darkened a few shades as Erebus' shadowy form appeared at the head of the table, next to his wife…

'Hello dear.' Nyx smiled widely at her husband as Hades uttered slowly,

'Hey dad..' The fiery god went right back to sulking moodily, thinking about his wife.

The black shadowy god sniffed the air deeply.

'Ooh… do I smell Apple Betty?' He sounded flashing his wife a wide-fanged keen and slightly creepy smirk. Nyx smiled at her husband before getting up and fetching him a bowl. Erebus picked up his fork and scooped himself a large mouthful of pudding before spotting a miserable looking Hades who was staring listlessly into his own plate.. Chewing slowly the shadowy god studied his youngest son through concerned orbs of grey before swallowing.

'What's the matter kiddo?' He asked softly causing Hades to sigh heavily.

'He and Persephone are having a little marital spat..' Nyx answered for her son when he failed to responded.

'Oh..' Erebus raised a shadowy grey eyebrow before rounding on Hades with an frown. '-alright _boy_, what did you do?'

'Nothing..' Hades retorted a little too quickly.

'_Hades_…' Erebus sounded in a low dangerous voice, his tone almost frightening.

'Alright!' Hades snapped, there was no point arguing as his father would always wheedle it out of him in the end… the God of Darkness knew him far too well. '-I mighta.. kinda…' He sounded twirling his wrist around vaguely, the fiery then sighed and decided to say the rest of it really fast in the hopes it would soften the blow. '-told-Seph-I-had-a-back-up-wife..'

Both his parents faces dropped in horror at his words causing Hades to wince and add feebly with an uneasy smirk, '-it was only meant to be a joke..'

'Oh Hades…' Nyx sounded completely disappointed in her son, she knew it would be bad but not this bad. The fiery god felt a pit in his stomach at her words he hated it when she looked at him that way… still it was nothing compared to the murderous glare he was getting off Erebus.

'What in the name of Tartarus is wrong with you!' He roared thumping the table and causing the whole kitchen to judder. Hades merely flashed his father an oily grin. Great, his father was home two seconds and he'd managed to infuriate him… it was the 'Titan incident' all over again..

'Dad, I swear didn't mean it..' Hades inwardly cursed… _Ok, serious deja-vu moment_..

'Oh no?' Erebus sounded, his chilly voice dripping with derision. 'It just slipped out, did it?'

'Uhh…' Hades sounded as the shadowy god raised his brow expectantly complete with a 'you better explain yourself _right_ _now_' glare… suddenly the fiery god felt like he was a little godling again..

_Yup, there was that sinking feeling…_

'Oy vey..' He groaned inwardly..

* * *

One of Persephone's pomegranate bushes was shaking so hard due to the tiny green imp who was cowering wide eyed in fear while clutching the trunk for support. The reason for his fearful behaviour was storming around the grove muttering as her golden flames flickered violently on her head and the ground tremors were continuing to shake up the isle of Sicily..

Only a few words were distinguishable, 'miserable, disgusting nymph…' and '-how dare that little home-wrecker say such things..'

Panic hated it when Persephone was upset, with Hades you knew what to expect and his rages were relatively short, once he'd charred you senseless he calmed down but Miss Persephone could rage for days on end… it was easier to just keep her happy.

Hermes had vanished back to Olympus as the tremors started, he'd learnt that it was better if you just did not to talk to Persephone when she was in one of her rages, unless you wanted to be orbed off the face of Gaia just for breathing near her… The Messenger God had taken a protesting Hera with him.

'We've done all we can do honey..' Hermes had said to lilac-skinned Queen of the Gods, '-it's up to Hades to fix this now..' After watching her niece march up and down a few times causing the plants in her grove to quiver and wilt as the young goddess seethed, Hera had nodded. There really was nothing more that she could do… but at least Persephone wasn't crying anymore. Only time would tell just how she'd reacted when Hades finally arrived in her grove to reconcile with her..

Panic anxiously peeled a branch back so he could check on Miss Persephone. It was nightfall now and the young goddess had finally stopped pacing. She was seated cross-legged under her favourite willow tree which was a few trees down from where the green imp was hidden. Panic gauged the expression on the Queen of the Underworld's stony face and deduced that it still wasn't safe to come out from the bush… He'd only seen her this mad once in the entire time she'd been living in the Underworld and that had when she'd found out Hades had brought her ex-boyfriend back from the dead… He gulped as the frown on Persephone's face deepened, her lips twisting into a tighter pout and the angry flicking flames swirled brutally around her head, lighting up the darkened grove like sun-light.

_Oh boy…_ Panic thought letting go of the branch… _the boss was gonna be in some really deep doo-doo when he finally showed his face… _Then a slight crease appeared on his little face as he thought about Hades, it would be unfair to let the fiery god arrive unprepared to face the wrath of Miss Persephone… _He had to warn him! _The skinny green imp then vanished in a green shimmer down to the Underworld..

* * *

Pain groaned, smacking his face repeatedly into the black jetty post as Neurosis warbled on..

'-and then if they get divorced you'll have this huge legal battle over the Underworld..' The skinny yellow imp paused rubbing his chin before continuing, '-y'know, the Underworld doesn't really split that well does it? So like, how would that work?'

'I don't care…' Pain wailed as he ceased banging his head because it hurt. '-will ya quit messin' with my head, your giving me a freakin' migraine..'

'Well..' Neurosis continued as though he hadn't heard what Pain had just said.

'Gah..' The pink imp sounded irritably and resumed banging his head of the jetty post.

'-I suppose the boss would have to take Tartarus, I doubt Miss Persephone would like it that much so that would leave her with the Asphodel Fields..'

'Stoppit! Stoppit! Stoppit! Stoppit!' Pain cried every word as he smashed his head harder against the jetty post.

'Ooh..' Came a new voice. '-looks like I'm not the only one with problems..'

Pain, recognising the voice, instantly stopped hitting his head off the jetty post and whirled around beaming..

'Panic..?' He sounded unsurely, taking in the sight of his skinny best friend. '-is it really you or have I gone crazy with loneliness?'

'Hey..' Neurosis sounded offended by this comment. '-I'm standin' right here y'know..'

'Pain!' The green imp practically burst into tears of joy at the sight of his best friend's face.

'Panic!' The pink imp responded in the same emotional tone, welling up. Both imps shot towards each other and embraced in a tight hug..

'Aw I've missed you..' Pain wept, clutching Panic into an eye-poppingly tight hug.

'And I missed you too..' The skinny green imp sniffed trying to hold back his own tears. '-Now quit cryin' ya big blubbering baby, your gonna set me off!' For a long moment they remained embraced before Neurosis' voice interrupted,

'Sheesh, get a room already..' The yellow imp rolled his purple-lidded eyes disdainfully at the emotional display.. Both Pain and Panic broke apart at these words and frowned briefly at the yellow imp.

'What's he doing here?' Panic asked his pink partner, eyeing Neurosis suspiciously.

'Uh, the boss kinda assigned him as my temporary partner until you came back to work..'

'Really?' Panic blinked surprised. 'What was he smoking when he thought up that?'

'Ah.. I think he was drunk actually..' Pain replied causing Pain to roll his eyes..

'Figures..' He uttered before turning the subject onto their fiery boss. '-do you guys no where I could find him? I gotta see him..'

'Haven't seen him since this morning when he just poofed out on us..' Neurosis sounded in a disapproving tone. 'I know he's depressed an' all but ya think he'd have the decency to let the staff know where he's going wouldn'tcha?'

Ok, ok..' Panic sounded trying hard not to fret. '-to find Hades, we just gotta think like Hades..'

'We gotta do what now?' Pain sounded confused, not understanding what his skinny green partner meant.

'He means if you were a depressed Hades, where would you go?' Neurosis sounded as though it were the most obvious thing in the word. Pain slumped down on the jetty floor thinking about the different places Hades went to in the Underworld… Panic was pacing in his usual hurried and slightly anxious fashion muttering as his little mind tried to figure it out..

'Where would Hades go..?' Suddenly a light went off in both imp's heads as they realised where Hades had gone… where else would he go when he was depressed..

'Erebus and Nyx's house..' Both imps cried out together… he'd be at his mom and dad's on the lower east-side of the Underworld. Panic suddenly looked sadly at his chubby pink partner.

'I should go..' He uttered.

'Do ya have to go right now?' Pain looked upset.

'Yeh… it's too complicated to explain right now, but If I don't warn the boss he might get his head orbed off when he goes to see Miss Persephone..' Panic then waved off Neurosis and Pain before shooting off in the direction of Nyx and Erebus…

...He just hoped he wasn't too late..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, I hope you all like how I'm portraying Hades' parents Nyx and Erebus… I love the idea of Nyx being the fussing mother while Erebus is the stern father figure… I reckon you'd need a firm hand with a god like Hades, and please tell me I'm not the only one who can easily picture the three teenage Fates leading on a tiny godling Hades and getting him into trouble! XD_

_Lol, what happens next?_

_Stay tuned… and don't forget to review please!_

_Love… Ditzy x_

_P.S. Now that H.o.T.T is finished I see no reason to keep P.o.P, G.W.I and D.H.L in the Disney section so as a forewarning… when I next update my Hades and Seph stories, (which will probably be in October) they be moving to the Hercules section where they belong… see ya there peeps… MmmmMwha ;*_


	5. The Dilemmas of a Blazing Little Devil

_Heya peeps, this short fanfic happens in between P.o.P and D.H.L… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (Unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: if you haven't read P.o.P you might get confused later on… enjoy and please review.. And please vote on my poll or you'll make the imps cry x x_

**Godly Wife Insurance**

**Chapter Five:****The Dilemmas of a Blazing Little Devil**

Hades sighed as he left his parents house, Erebus had ordered him to go and make peace with his wife.. but not before giving his youngest son a lecture on marriage, on how it was all about compromise and respect..

_Ahh, there was that little word…_

The 'R-Word' had been drummed into his flaming head from a young age… _Respect others and they will respect you…. If you want respect you have to earn it… A little respect goes a long way.. _Erebus was full of these little sayings.. _Sheesh, he shoulda been the God of Philosophy!_ Hades rolled his golden eyes meaningfully… not that the message hadn't sunk in of course. When Hades had first met Zeus all those centuries ago when he'd come to the Underworld recruiting his brother 'Aidenous' for the Titan War, Hades had respected him.. once he'd got over the shock of discovering that he was adopted and his parents had been hiding it from him for sixteen years.. but still, he had respected him. At least he had until he discovered what kind of god Zeus really was… loud, boisterous and rude, plus he had the brains of an idiot and would have just barrelled into Titan battle without even thinking.. just like his yutz-of-a-son Hercules..

It had been Hades who'd spent most of his time just sitting and watching the Titans as they went about their daily business, studying them, learning, memorising their routine and discovering their secrets, then strategizing on how best to take them down with a little chessboard of figures. The teen godling wasn't particularly interested in bonding with his new 'family'.. he just wanted to get this stupid war over and done with so he could get the hell out of there… war just wasn't his thing..

The few times he'd been forced to spend time around his 'family' had been torturous… Zeus apparently didn't like the fact that the fiery god just liked to sit in silence, watching his siblings around him… observing them through a distant expression, never really taking part in their conversations or antics. But then Zeus had never really understood the fiery god. When Hades spoke he was a fast-talker, able to charm or wheedle anything he wanted out of whoever he was addressing, but why? Because he'd taken the time to really know them first, but not by talking to them… _No, no, no, talk was cheep.. talking led to questions, questions led to lies… _This was why he liked to sit and observe his siblings..

Next after Zeus was Hestia. She liked to think she was everybody's mom, still did today, she'd sacrificed her own childhood to help Gaia raise her two sisters. As a result, she chose to remain a Virgin Goddess so as to make up for her losing this section of her life… _Ah dear sweet Hestia.._ Hades had no issue with her, in fact Persephone's fussing of him during their time together was very reminiscent of how the Goddess of Hearth had fussed over him during the Titan War… ensuring he ate regular meals, making sure he had clean chitons, keeping the place neat and tidy… and Persephone had inherited Hestia's curvaceous figure too, result!

After her came Poseidon or 'Po-Po' as he had been nicknamed by his own adoptive mother Thetys and the name had sort of stuck. Unlike Hades, he'd always known he'd been adopted but he loved living in the ocean… careening around on a make-shift scallop-shell surfboard, riding the waves or spooking his sisters with strange and creepy sea creatures. Most of the time Poseidon was easy going.. just as well since he had to mediate many clashes Hades had gotten into with Zeus.. but when his temper was flared he could hold a grudge for days. Out of his two 'brothers' Hades liked him better, even if he did speak in nautical terms and insist on being known as Captain of the Seas.. he smelt strongly of brine but was ok in small doses, when he wasn't regaling you with one of his little 'sea shanties'..

Then came Persephone's mother, Demeter, Gaia's progeny. She was the one that Mother Earth herself had picked to carry on the cycle of life. Sweet-natured and peace-loving, Hades had never had a problem with the Goddess of Nature.. except when he and Persephone were dating but that had calmed down now.. of course Demeter had her interfering moments, especially when it came to her little sister, but she was always kind to Hades. Sometimes she'd sat and watched the Titans with him while growing some long plants to shield them from view, even though Hades was invisible at the time.. but the gesture was sweet all the same…

Hades shook his flaming head roughly before his thoughts could wander onto his estranged wife, then the fiery god suddenly stopped walking and frowned as he came to the final 'sibling'… _Hera_.

There was only one word to describe Hera during the Titan War. _Annoying_. The Queen of the Gods came with her own set of dramatics that had convinced Hades into thinking she was either emotionally imbalanced or she just liked being the centre of attention. Frankly, he didn't give a damn about her theatrics and her stupid little crush on Zeus just confused the flames off him… what in Tartarus did she see in that guy? Wherever Zeus went.. there was Hera, practically gawking at him like some silly-sex-starved nymph.. Whenever she was with Hades all he heard was 'Zeus is this' and 'Zeus is that' until the fiery god flared red yelling at her to '_just shut up already_' then she'd run off crying to the first person she saw wailing about 'how beastly' he was being to her.. A few millennia later and she hadn't changed a bit.

Hades rolled his eyes and picked pace again, walking faster than before, irritated now… How the hell was Hera able to give advice on marriage when her own was such a flaming disaster story? Zeus had had his affairs, that was no secret. Everybody knew about them. Tartarus! Even the mortals had gotten wind of them somehow… but Hera never spoke about them, she locked it all away, dishing out her petty little wrath on her husband's mistresses or their pathetic little offspring.. Then instead of dealing with the actual issue, like a sane and rational god would, she'd keep up the pretence of married bliss…

_Eh, hellooo, loony-party-of-one... sanity calling!_ _What is Bolt Boy gonna learn from that? Bubkis.. at least my Sephykins had had the gumption to leave me.. _Hades thought bitterly, even though he hadn't technically cheated on her.

Then suddenly Hades stopped in his tracks, golden eyes wide with dread at the thought that immediately followed this one.

_Seph, with marital issues… Hera, Goddess of Marriage…_ Hades gulped feeling nervous now… _Aww no… …No way… Seph wouldn't… She wouldn't seek solace.. from Hera!_ _Would she?_

* * *

'Hades!' A panicky voice suddenly came from in front of him, slightly out of breath. The fiery god's unfocused eyes suddenly snapped onto the fluttering green object in front of his face.

'Thank the Fates…' Panic wheezed in relief causing Hades to blink and glare irritated by this interruption.

'Not now..' Hades suddenly intoned brushing passed him, not even registering that this was the imp that was supposed to be on the surface with his wife.

'But sir…' Panic sounded alarmed now spinning around and following his flame-haired boss who was now marching quickly back down the path. '-this is important!'

'Not as important as what I'm doin' now..' Hades snapped back irritably, _stupid damn imps never learned did they?_

Panic suddenly paused, hovering in mid-air confused before dashing after Hades.

'Uh, pardon my rudeness sir but uh.. what are you doing now?'

'Well Panic..' Hades gave a small irritable sigh. '-first, I'm gotta get rid of this annoying imp _fluttering_ by my head.. and _then,_ I'm gonna go win ma wife back, ya catchin' the jist?'

Panic actually dropped out of the air in shock at these words. _He was going to go see_… The green imp gasped, his bug-eyes widening in fear… Persephone was sitting in an inferno of angry flames, his boss would be imploded on sight for sure!

'No you can't!' Panic cried out, holding an arm out in a halting gesture… amazingly, it worked. Hades stopped instantly in his tracks…

…and flared a brilliant shade of orange at the imp's words.

'Now you listen to me ya little putz..' Hades snarled in an angry snarl, whipping around to Panic who was now shaking nervously. '-don't you _ever _tell me what I can and can't do… _ya got that!_' He roared before swivelling back around and trying to calm down… he was not disappearing to his wife's grove in a hissy fit of orange flames.. that would go down like Atlantis City.

'But sir… you don't understand..' Came Panic's whiney voice.

Hades' flames burned more violently… _Dammit, this imp was only making it worse!_

Panic carried on determined to warn his boss even though he knew he'd get flamed now whether he spoke or not… besides, he had to try.

'-you can't go to Miss Persephone right now because-' He was cut short of what he'd been intending to say by a massive wave of red-hot fire which swept him up and smashed him into the black wall behind him, flattening him into a charred pancake.

A now bluish-grey skinned Hades sighed happily, nothing calmed him down like a little bit of minion torture. Then the fiery god whisked out a bottle of Old Spice, splashed a bit on before sending it back to it's home in a whirl of smoke, he then vanished in a curl of smoke to go schmooze the missus..

Panic groaned slumping down the wall, leaving behind a perfect scorched-imp stencil on the wall… he blinked several times before continuing feebly as though Hades were still there.

'-she's gonna orb your flaming head off..' He sounded before closing his slightly open eyes and falling unconscious.

* * *

Pain and Neurosis were just finishing off the tally count of souls so they could turn in for the night when a burnt and smoking Panic finally flopped down beside them. Both the chubby pink imp and the yellow skinny imp looked concerned.

'Whoa..' Neurosis sounded, taking in the state of the thin green imp. '-what happened to you?'

'Hades..' Panic responded wearily.

'I take it he didn't take the news very well..' Pain sounded worried.

'He never gave me a chance to tell him..' Panic replied turning to his best friend.

'So where is he now?' The pink imp suddenly flinched nervously as though expecting him to just walk in any moment now.

'On the surface..' Panic said slowly. '-seeing Miss Persephone..' He shook his head at the thought of what she might do when the young goddess saw their boss.

'But isn't that a good thing?' Pain looked confused by Panic's lack of enthusiasm for this.

'No!' He frowned. 'Hera came to see her and now she's really mad at him!'

'_Hera!_' Both Neurosis and Pain shared a look of surprise, they both knew this was going to be bad news.. They then turned back to Panic who was looking set.

'So Panic…' Neurosis sounded slowly. '-do you know why Hades and the Boss-Lady split up?'

'Yeh…' The green imp sighed heavily. 'The boss told Miss Persephone he had a back-up wife..'

'But that's gotta be a joke!' Pain sounded instantly and Panic nodded.

'Yeh… that's what we all thought too but Miss Persephone thinks he's serious and..' Panic sighed heavily before adding in a low mournful tone. '-so does the nymph he's teasing..'

'What?' Pain squawked out in alarm.

Panic briefly explained the events that had happened in the last four days to his two associates… they hung onto every word with wide shocked eyes. By the end of the story Pain's jaw had hit the floor in shock.

Neurosis merely smirked amused.

'See..' He sounded addressing Pain and jumping down from the chessboard on which they'd been sitting. '-I told ya they'd be getting a divorce..' Smirking slightly he poofed out in a little golden shimmer.

Panic frowned after him… what rubbish had that imp been saying now?

'Oh my gods…' Pain whimpered. '-it's true..'

'What..' Panic sounded swivelling his head around, shocked by how upset Pain was. The chubby pink imp was looking remorseful.

'Pain don't listen to him!' The green imp shot irritably, slapping his partner across the cheek. 'That bozo don't know anything.. if anybody can sort this out Hades can!' He declared causing Pain to look up as Panic stood stall and confident.

'You really think the boss can win her back..' He sounded doubtfully.

'Hey..' Panic sounded grinning. '-he's done it before, hasn't he?'

Pain blinked then remembered about the Adonis-issue that the two gods had gone through over a year and a half ago… Then a large grin suddenly crossed his wide face.

'Yeh..' He sounded bouncing to his feet cheerfully. '..Ya hear that Neurosis!' He suddenly bellowed shaking his fist to the whole room. 'The boss _will_ win her back!'

Suddenly the disembodied voice of the yellow imp sounded dripping with sarcasm.

'Why… do I not believe you..'

'Cause your freakin' stupid!' Pain yelled back angrily then was seized by Panic.

'Alright, take it easy..' He sounded wary of the fact that Pain's face had turned an angry red colour. '-let's just get things sorted for when the boss get's back..'

'Ok..' Pain sounded and the two beamed at each other. 'It's good to have ya home Panic..'

'It's good to be home Pain..' Panic responded nudging him.

Pain nudged him back a little too hard so the green imp fell over.

'Hey..' Panic whined swivelling around and glaring at a grinning Pain. '-you did that on purpose…'

'Whatcha gonna do if I did?' Pain sounded smirking, enjoying the old routine..

'I'll get you back for that!' Panic snarled glaring at him.

'Ya better catch me first..' Pain declared cheerfully before grabbing his clipboard and dashing out of the throne room.

'Hey!' Panic sounded grabbing his clipboard and shaking it angrily at his pink partner, chasing him down the hallway yelling.. 'Get back here, I'm not finished with you yet!'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, I'm so glad my fans managed to find my stories when I moved them and to all the newbies who maybe checking me out for the first time.. Please review, I love hearing what people think and I get all excited when I get a new review (it's true!)… that's how much I love them!_

_Ok, I tried to keep the original six as close to the way Disney had them, but I do add a bit of my own idea for them too, and I hope you like Hades reminiscing about his past during the Titan War… every so often in my stories I'm going to be flashing little bits of Hades' past to help explain (my theory on) why he dislikes Zeus so much as it really is too long and complex to explain properly… but it does make sense, trust me!_

_Lol, I know it looks like I've written the imps out of this story but I haven't I promise, it's just the next few chaps are all about Hades, Seph and Minthe so I needed a nice tidy bit to leave the imps on for now… it's nice to have them back together eh?_

_See ya for the confrontation… how is Persephone going to react when Hades arrives on Sicily? Will she really orb his head off?_

_You just have to wait and see!_

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy x_


	6. There's Nothing like the Wrath of Seph

_Heya peeps, this short fanfic happens in between P.o.P and D.H.L… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (Unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: if you haven't read P.o.P you might get confused later on… enjoy and please review.. And please vote on my poll or you'll make the imps cry x x_

_**Godly Wife Insurance**_

_**Chapter Six:**_**There's Nothing like the Wrath of a Seph Scorned**

Persephone's grove on Sicily was dark… too dark for the time of night. Hades had a sneaking suspicion that his parents Nyx and Erebus were probably watching from somewhere nearby. He also suspected that if it wasn't for the God of Shadows obscuring the light, some of the gods on Olympus would probably be spying on him from above..

_Peachy… just peachy… _Since when was his life suddenly considered to be a peepshow?

Hades peered into the darkness of the grove looking for any signs of his wife before his golden eyes found themselves drawn to a strange glow of pale yellow light under a large sinister willow tree. Suddenly feeling nervous, Hades slowly edged forwards trying not to make too much noise on the grassy moss covering the ground. As the fiery god drew closer he began to make out the entity within the bright light.

Pearly white skin wrapped in an incredibly tight black chiton which flashed of an amazingly curved figure, dainty and feminine arms were crossed rigidly against an ample bosom, her brows forming an adorable little scowl above closed eyes then a cute button nose and full set of luscious cherry lips, all were framed in a heart-shaped face that was capped off with a full head of golden flames..

Hades blinked at his silently fuming wife who was sat cross-legged in front of him…_ Oh-kaay, she's furious… so maybe now wasn't the best time to try and schmooze the missus home.. _Hades was secretly grateful her eyes were shut, maybe he could just sneak off before she realised he was here.. He took a small step backwards, intending to just back away slowly until he was a safe distance away and just disappear back to the Underworld. Suddenly a snapping noise, like a twig breaking under his foot, made him freeze with dread..

Instantly Persephone's eyes opened and narrowed into slits of green loathing as she clocked who was standing in front of her… then she uttered only one word with so much repressed fury that it made the fiery god flinch.

'_You.._'

Hades flashed his wife an oily, nervous grin as his mind tried to figure out how best to speak… _Ok, we can handle this, just give her some of that good old Haden charm.._

'Sephy… bubeleh…' They fiery god suddenly spoke in a soft voice which oozed with suaveness.

'Save it!' Persephone snapped irritably causing Hades to instantly shut up and inwardly cursing himself for wincing, yet again… when did he become such a yutz?

The white-skinned goddess continued to glare at her nervous husband for a long moment before speaking sharply.

'Just tell me what you want Hades..' Her tone was laced with contempt and her arms tightened across her chest as Persephone swivelled away in disgust.

'I want ya to come home babe..' Hades sounded gently. '-I miss ya..' Persephone snorted with derision at these words.

'You should have thought of that before you started consorting with nymphs..' She spoke rudely.

'I haven't consorted with anything..' Hades frowned irritably at this accusation.

'Oh…' Persephone sounded in a cruel mocking tone. '-then this must all be some little fantasy that I created, is that what your implying?' She swivelled back glaring at her husband again..

'No..' Hades sounded, hating the way she looked at him right now and hating himself for upsetting her..

'Then what is this Hades, because for the love of Gaia I would _love_ to know!' She bellowed, her flaming hair rippling more violently the more upset she got..

'Sephy..' Hades sighed heavily. '-the 'back-up wife thing' was all just a joke-'

'I _know_ _that!_' Persephone sounded crossly. 'I'm not upset with you because of your stupid joke!'

'Your not?' Hades asked, genuinely confused. He had been so dam sure that was why his wife ad been up here..

'You thought that.. Oh my days.. _Hades_!' Persephone screeched. 'I'm upset.. because you actually went to this nymph _behind_ _my_ _back_ and offered to marry her if I died..' She glared at her husband again. There was a long pause now as Hades thought best on how to answer..

'But Sephykins…' Hades purred in a low voice with a pleading edge. '-I've no intentions of _actually_ marrying her..' He then straightened slightly before holding his hand out and crossing his heart. '-and I Swear by the Styx that I never touched her..' Persephone kept the frown on her face but felt a little better inside knowing that at least some part of her husband remembered to stay faithful… but there was still the issue of what Minthe had said… Persephone sighed and turned her sad wide green eyes to Hades..

'It doesn't matter..' She uttered gloomily. '-you still betrayed me and you broke my trust, I just don't know if I can forgive you for that..'

Hades could only stare in dismay at his despondent goddess as she gazed sadly at the mossy forest floor… forget schmoozing, there was only one thing left for him to try and the fiery god couldn't believe that it had actually come down to this… he dropped to his knees and practically beseeched his wife..

'Sephy..' He sounded as his large terrified golden orbs glanced between her eyes almost wishing she would look up to meet and reassure him. 'Just give me a chance will ya, I'll make it up to ya I swear..' He said to her before adding. '-I'm beggin' ya, heh can ya believe it.. _me_ Hades grovellin' to a girl, I am so glad my dad's around 'cause if Bolt Boy ever saw this he'd have a field day!' Persephone briefly smiled but it vanished into her depressed look very quickly.

'I dunno..' She sounded eventually.

'I'll do anythin' ya want baby, ya name it and I'm there..' He sounded coaxingly causing his wife to finally look around at him to see her own anguish reflected in his large golden orbs. She felt part of her heart soften towards him again…

Persephone sighed and uncrossed her arms.

'Hades, I need time to think about this…' She sounded then looked up at the dark sky only now realising just how dark had gotten it was. '-come back tomorrow, I'll have an answer for you then..'

Hades' shoulders sagged slightly, he didn't like the idea of having to go through another torturous night without her but he wasn't going to argue about it.

'Sure babe, anything you say..' He lent in to kiss her cheek goodnight, it was an unconscious move as he had done it so many times before but this time she flinched, shying away from this simple gesture… Her refusal to accept this small token of endearment stabbed Hades' heart but the fiery god swallowed his heavy feeling and merely uttered, 'Night Seph..'. He then vanished in a curl of black smoke back to the Underworld.

Persephone gave a deep sigh as a tear rolled down her face… what was she to do?

* * *

'Oh thank goodness..' Demeter sighed relieved when Hermes had given her the news that Hades had finally arrived in the grove. She'd been worrying about the state of her family ever since Persephone had arrived home. She may have had her issues with them at the start but after a year of seeing them together the Goddess of Nature had to admit they were a good match. Persephone was a soothing influence on Hades and he, oddly enough, seemed to bring out a more mature side to her daughter. The two of them had gone through so much together and Demeter wasn't going to let some stupid little tiff break up her daughter's marriage. If there was one thing she'd promised herself after her husband's death it was her daughter was not going to lose the love of her life… like she had.

'Now we're getting somewhere..' The Goddess of Nature gave Hermes another cup of warm nectar and the two sat at her large wooden kitchen table, staying toasty and warm thanks to the large stove in the room.

'Yehh.. at least now they can work through their issues in peace.' Hermes drawled smiling widely, he too had been relieved when Hades had made an appearance on Sicily. Erebus had arrived at the same moment, plunging the whole grove into darkness as to give his adoptive son and daughter-in-law the privacy to work on their issues. Hermes had immediately high-tailed out of there. The God of Shadows was by no means a nasty deity but there was just something about that guy that gave the Messenger God the heebie-jeebies..

'Yes..' Demeter beamed out at her pitch black isle with a smile. '-Erebus certainly made sure of that..' She then turned away from the window and back to Hermes.

'Oh I do hope they can work things out soon..' Demeter sighed heavily stirring her nectar before taking a sip.

'Demeter honey, relax..' Hermes smiled. '-I bet they've already kissed and made up. Heh, those two cats are crazy about each other-' The tiny Messenger God broke off as the door leading outside to the gardens opened and Persephone appeared in the kitchen.

'Cora, sweetheart are you alright..' Demeter asked, noting the sad look in her daughter's eyes.

'I'm fine..' Persephone responded sullenly.

'Yo Seph..' Hermes spoke gently. '-where's the hubby?' He asked noting that Hades was not with her.

'In the Underworld..' Persephone sounded in a tired voice.

'Oh..' Demeter sounded apologetically. '-how about a nice cuppa nectar and we can talk pumpkin..' Persephone shook her head.

'No thanks mom, I don't really feel like talking, think I'm just gonna go to bed..'

'Alright dear..' Demeter nodded gently. '-night..'

'Sweet dreams Seph..' Hermes smiled at her.

'Night guys..' Persephone murmured heading off down the corridor towards her tiny bedroom at the end of the hall.

'Wow..' Hermes sounded, hardly believing that the Underworld duo still hadn't patched things up yet. '-this must be more serious than I thought..'

'Well at least their talking now..' Demeter sighed shaking her head ruefully. '-that's something..'

* * *

The next morning Hades arrived in Persephone's grove to find his wife waiting for him under her favourite tree.

'So…' Hades sounded nervously, not wishing to draw out the suspense any further than it had. '-have ya come to a decision?' He asked flashing his wife a smile.

'Yes..' Persephone said not giving anything away with her facial expression. Hades felt a strange sensation in his chest, having never been in this position before he was completely unaware that it was a sense of dread. '-I've decided to come home.'

'Really?' Hades sounded with huge amounts of relief and happiness… finally he and his little Sephykins were getting back on track..

'Yeh.. I've missed being with you..' Persephone sounded sweetly.

'Oh Sephy..' Hades sounded breathlessly, unable to contain his glee.. _She was taking him back!.. _He moved to pull the young goddess into a passionate kiss.

'Whoa, slow down Romeo..' Persephone sounded pushing her husband away causing him to blink confused. '-before we can go back to the way we were you gotta do something for me first..' She sounded with a slight smirk playing about her lips.

'You name it babydoll..' Hades sounded cheerfully, swishing his fist through the air in front of him. '-whatever your little heart desires my sweet..'

Persephone's smirk suddenly turned depraved… the Fates were right, her husband was so predictable..

'What?' Hades sounded suspiciously at her sudden change in smile. 'Why do I get the feeling I ain't gonna like where this is goin'..'

'Cause you're a suspicious alolicious..' Persephone smirked amused.

'I'm a what now?' Hades raised a brow confused.

'Nevermind..' The young goddess shook her head. '-just take my hand sweetie..'

'Uh, _fiiine_…' Hades sighed then took Persephone's dainty white hand, relishing the softness of her skin. The next moment the two gods vanished in a swirl of bright white orbs.

The two deities reappeared in a lightly wooded area by a small stream. Hades' large golden eyes roamed around the vaguely familiar territory before turning to his wife with a questioning look.

'Uh… ok, so what are we doin' here babe?' He asked the young goddess who smiled widely at his words then pointed a little way up stream..

'We're here because of her..' Persephone sounded in a slightly irritable voice causing Hades' fiery head to swivel around and see who she was pointing at. Sitting not to far away, but far enough so that she couldn't see or hear them, was the naiad with whom the trouble had started. Hades groaned inwardly at the sight of his 'back-up wife' as the slim naiad was braiding daisies into her long green hair and humming an upbeat tune.

'So, what?' Hades sounded not even remotely moved by this simple naiad. 'Ya want me to break it off with Plain Jane over there, hey no problem sugar-' Hades made to move towards the naiad but Persephone held him back.

'No Hades..' Persephone sounded frowning. '-that just won't cut it anymore..' Hades blinked.

'What are ya talkin' about? I told ya already, I never touched her!' He frowned at his wife, why didn't she believe him?

'This isn't about what you did, it's about what she did!' Persephone hissed crossly causing her husband to look even more confused.

'Huh?' He raised one eyebrow at his wife. 'What've I missed now?'

'Your little 'bride' over there has been saying nasty things about me..' The Goddess of Life stabbed an irritable finger towards Minthe who was still unaware of the two deities. '-she thinks she could make a better Queen of the Dead than me..'

'Pffft…' Hades snorted. '-she wishes..'

'Hades!' Persephone sounded appalled as the god smirked. 'She insulted me!'

'So, smite her for it..' Hades shrugged carelessly.

'Oh no..' Persephone frowned before rounding on her husband. '-I'm not going to smite her..' She paused as her smirk twisted into a sinister sneer and she jabbed his chest. '-_you are.._'

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, ok… once again I'm sorry this chap has taken so long to post because I had such trouble writing D.H.L but thankfully I had written half this chap before I'd started it.._

_I love writing Hades and Seph when they argue and this story is full of it! Please review everybody, how will Hades react to Persephone's disturbing idea.._

_Lot's of Love…_

…_Ditzy X_


	7. Minthe, We hardly Knew you,,

_Heya peeps, this short fanfic happens in between P.o.P and D.H.L… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (Unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: if you haven't read P.o.P you might get confused later on… enjoy and please review.. And please vote on my poll or you'll make the imps cry x x_

_**Godly Wife Insurance**_

_**Chapter Seven:Minthe, We hardly Knew you,,**_

'What?' Hades half-laughed believing this was some kind of joke, then it quickly died when he saw her expression darken.. 'Your serious ain't ya?' Persephone didn't say anything, she merely pouted with her arms folding across her chest as her hair flickered tetchily in a 'Sephy not impressed' manner..

'Oy vey..' Hades sighed feeling slightly victimized.. this was a punishment worthy of Tartarus, and he hadn't even cheated on her.. 'Ok, answer me honestly babe, have ya been takin' loony lessons offa Hera..' There was a bite of exasperation in his voice now. '-cause if that's the case Sephy you can just drop the act right now ok… Yeesh, we got enough loonies in the cosmos already and I don't need one in Bones 'R' Us too..'

Persephone's eyes narrowed into slits at her husband.

'So your not going to do it..' She sounded icily, her hair rippling into flames again.

'Whatta ya nuts?' Hades instantly sounded, briefly flaring yellow. 'Sephy listen to yourself for a sec ok… this is mushuga, it's crazy talk..' Persephone glared at this before hissing with venom..

'Oh so now I'm crazy for wanting _that_ _hussy-_' She jabbed an enraged finger at the naiad, not caring about the level of her voice… let the little home wrecking Minthe find them, then she'd learn what happened when you pissed off the Queen of the Underworld.. '-to suffer..'

'No Sephykins..' Hades sighed witheringly as his eyes rolled upwards. '-I'm with ya on that front babe..' He then smirked slightly before adding, '-but ya know I gotta 'strictly no flames' policy when it comes to girls… besides all I gotta do is give 'em the whole booga-booga treatment and they're too scared to argue with me anyway..'

Persephone rolled her eyes tetchily at her husband's attempts to weasel out of smiting the nymph.. She groaned exasperatedly..

'Look..' Persephone sounded rolling her eyes. '-you said 'whatever your little heart desires'.. now I want you to go out there and _deal_ with her..' The young queen pouted at her husband.

'Aww geez..' Hades groaned at his wife's adorable little face, he really hated having to deny her of her vengeance… it was just _ungodly_..

'Do I really have to barbeque the nymph?' He flashed his wife a leer. '-what if I just spooked her into repentin', huh?' Persephone frowned at him but Hades continued. '_Baabe_.. Ya know I love it when your nasty, really I do..' He schmoozed her shamelessly.. '-but I just don't want ya to have me do somethin' your gonna regret later..' Persephone thought about his words for a moment… she knew just how _persuasive_ he could be..

'Well..' She drawled musing it over. '-what if she remains stubborn..'

'-then I'll torch her where she stands..' Hades grinned widely causing a cute little vindictive smirk to cross his wife's lips.

'You promise..' Persephone sounded in a sweetly girly voice.

'I swear by the Styx..' He sounded in a low voice wrapping his arms around her waist pulling her to him with a look of smouldering passion. Just as he closed his eyes and lent in to give her a kiss a single dainty white finger pressed against his pouted lips.

'Uh-uh.. go deal with the naiad first sweetie..' She sounded in a sultry purr, her lips on the other side of her finger. Hades sighed heavily before pulling back from her… Persephone really did want him to work for it..

'Baby, you are one tough broker..' He sounded in faint amusement causing Persephone to roll her eyes upwards.

'I learnt from the best..' She flashed him a girly smile before uttering.. '-now go get her sweet flames..', and shoving him with all her might into the clearing where Minthe was sat..

* * *

Hades sighed heavily. This was so messed up, smiting a nymph went against every fibre in his body but his wife had pulled a power move… how could he say no to those huge green eyes and full pouty lips? Besides, he had such a hard time actually believing that the nymph thought he was serious.. That was a laugh and a half, the _only_ reason he'd picked Minthe as his 'back-up bride' was because she was the complete opposite of Persephone… plain to look at with a slim willowy figure and since he liked something to grab she was not much competition next to his wife… hence why he thought his Sephykins would originally see that it was a joke because this naiad was nothing in next to her beauty.

As he approached the nymph she whirled around, sensing the presence of someone else, and beamed widely at him and flicking her daisy infested green hair.

'Heya handsome..' She sounded in a high-pitched voice as her inky eyes lit up in a way the fiery god didn't like. She was a little overly keen to see him again.. And what was with the 'handsome' bit? Was she trying to flirt with him?

Hades gave a very brief involuntary shudder which went unnoticed by the tiny naiad.

'Where have you been hiding?' Minthe smiled sweetly but it did nothing but convince Hades that with her skinny frame and sense of naivety she was Zeus' type right down to a tee… _Oh yeh, Bolt Boy would definitely hit that…_

'Uh, in the Underworld..' Hades sounded rudely as though this was the most obvious thing ever.. He wasn't going to waste manners on this nymph, that was for sure… but the silly naive girl merely giggled at his words.

'I wondered how long you were going to wait before coming for me..' She sounded sweetly lounging in what, she thought, was a seductive manner..

Hades blinked taken aback… _What?.. _The fiery god then decided he must have misheard her and began wiggling a long greyish-blue finger in his ear..

'Heh-heh, I'm sorry I must still have a lump of brimstone wedged in my ear from Tartarus..' He flicked something out of his ear with a casual glance before returning to Minthe. '-ya wanna try runnin' that by me again?'

Minthe giggled amused, he was so cute when he was trying to play the 'I-totally-forgot-about-our-little-agreement' bit, but he wasn't fooling her… no sir, why else could he be here? He'd obviously waited a little time after Persephone had stormed out before coming to sweep her off her feet..

'Oh you, he-he..' Minthe waved a tiny hand carelessly. '-you don't have to play dumb with me Hades we both know why you're here..' The entire plan to terrify this nymph into repenting for her insults against his wife was rapidly going down the tubes… mostly because this naiad kept whacking him further and further of course with her words..

'What?' He sounded blatantly lost now..

'You've come to take me to my new home..' She sounded still beaming at him in that air-headed fashion.

Hades suddenly started laughing at her, it was a high-pitched shrieking mocking laughter of disbelief at the ridiculousness of her words.. _She actually thought he wanted to be with her!_ For a long moment the fiery god's brilliant blue flames rippled animatedly along his shoulders as he guffawed at Minthe.. She merely looked confused by his laughing fit..

'Whatta ya.. _freakin_' _nuts!_' The fiery god practically choked on his own laughter before composing himself with difficulty and adding, 'Ahh, that's the funniest thing I've heard since Apollo and Daphne..' He snickered briefly amused at that..

'What's so funny!' Minthe finally demanded, why wasn't he taking this seriously? If Hades had ever known how she truly felt about him he probably would have picked a different nymph to tease his wife with. The one thing that Persephone had in common with her rival Minthe was that both girls had been nursing huge crushes on the same flame-haired god of the Underworld, the only difference was that Hades had responded to Persephone's attraction rather than Minthe's. And it wasn't as if the nymph had never tried to get his attention before Persephone came into the picture.. but the fiery god either didn't notice her or was good at ignoring her..

And then, in waltzed her so-called friend Persephone with fat hips and a serious attitude problem and Hades lapped it up, gushing over her as if she were Hestia and Aphrodite combined! Minthe had seethed with fury at having her cherish god snatched out from right under her nose. Then only a few weeks ago he'd shown up by her stream with a proposal, of sorts, and she had been so stunned and flushed with pleasure that she agreed… perhaps he'd finally seen what an utter witch Persephone was if he wanted to be with her.. and now here he was, doubled-over in laughter at the thought of taking her home with him? What under Gaia was going on here?

'I'm sorry..' Hades finally stopped snickering, wiping a tear of amusement away and sighing heavily. He quickly snapped onto a firm and serious expression. '-you and me babe… it's never gonna happen..'

'W-what?' Minthe sounded stunned… not believing what was happening, tears threatening to sting her inky eyes but she held them back, not wanting him to see her cry.. '-Why?' She uttered and before her question was answered by an angry voice that came from all around at once..

'Oh my days, _Hades will you just smite her already!_'

* * *

Minthe whipped around shocked as a smattering of white orbs swirled in the air as the Queen of the Underworld appeared beside her husband who was frowning at her..

'Persephone?' The naiad uttered vaguely before snapping out of her shock and rounding on Hades. 'What's _she_ doing here?' However the fiery god ignored her and chose to address his fuming wife.

'Yeesh Seph, ya didn't even give me a chance to ease into it..' The fiery god sounded in a soft warm tone trying to soothe his wife to no avail.

'Oh..' Persephone's voice sounded with cruel mocking. '-so now you've got to _ease_ into it, do you?' Her eyes narrowed and she added in a detestable tone. Unlike her husband Persephone had known Minthe had had a soft spot for her husband for a long time, they'd once used to be friends, before she got together with Hades, but the two had fallen out because he chose her. Although she was saddened by the loss of her friend the goddess didn't dwell on it, she was with the man of her dreams, and until her husband had mentioned the naiad's name as his 'back-up wife' she had thought her old friend might have gotten over the sting of rejection..

Persephone was every bit as much the jealous type as Hades was and she was not sharing her husband with anyone… _especially_ not with some resentful little naiad who thought she was better than her..

'_Hey!_' The fiery god flared a brief orange shade. 'Ya know how I feel about smitin' girls!' He suddenly flashed Persephone a devious leer. 'Besides, we agreed that we'd try getting her to apologise first, didn't we..' He sounded and Persephone frowned but didn't answer. Hades then nudged her while prompting, '-huh, huh, didn't we Sephykins?' The goddess sighed as he used his pet name for her along with a wide satisfied 'you know I'm right' smirk..

'Ok fiiine..' :Persephone drawled in a childish manner and pouting in a way that made Hades' smirk turn into a seductive leer.. '-whatever, just get her to apologise then..'

'Apologise!' Minthe burst out in indignation, as she'd been following this argument that had been taking place right in front of her… using 'argument' loosely because, in the nymph's opinion, it was more like a juvenile squabble..

Persephone finally turned to her former friend with a sickly sweet smile.

'That's right Minthe..' She sounded in a girly voice that was also laced with a dangerous edge. '-you take back all the nasty things you said about me and my darling husband here-' She inclined her head towards Hades. '-won't have to smite you..' The fiery god merely flashed her a smirk that said 'pick carefully'..

The naiad frowned at Persephone for a long moment… she really hated that goddess. They'd used to be friends, they'd done everything together: braided each other's hair, exchanged gossip, went to bacchanals to laugh at the bizarre dancing then wonder why Bacchus was such a nymph-magnet.. of course they'd both also shared the biggest crush on Hades and were probably the only members of the 'I Love Hades Club'. Then Persephone had stabbed her in the heart by getting together with Hades and ditching her on Earth by herself without even a word for weeks on end… So now she had a choice. To live with the knowledge that Persephone was the one Hades had chosen and be doomed to wander around with a broken heart… or die at the hand of the god she loved.

It didn't take the naiad long to make her decision..

'_No!_' Minthe screeched startling Persephone. 'I will never apologise for telling the truth!'

Hades cursed inwardly but didn't give anything away by expression… _stupid little naiad_. His fingers then glowed as a brilliant orange fireball… He was about to throw it at Minthe who now had her eyes shut and had braced herself for her death. Hades then turned to his wife and cocked a brow in a 'are you really sure you want me to do this' manner.

Persephone gazed at her former friend with a curious expression, almost sorry for what was going to come next… but she was Queen of the Underworld and this nymph would serve as a warning to all those who dared to cross her. The goddess then gave her husband a sharp nod and he tossed the sizzling ball of light at the nymph.

As Minthe's body erupted into flames the sparsely lit grove was filled with her wails of anguish and it echoed and travelled upwards to the heavens above… the wails did not last very long as her body quickly turned into a large pile of ash on the ground.

Hades barely had time to acknowledged that the nymph was dead because of him when a mass of blonde hair rugby tackled him to the ground, kissing him passionately. The fiery god gave a slightly muffled grunt as he hit the ground and the kiss broke instantly. Hades blinked upwards at his wife who was smiling at him while straddled across him with her hands on his chest.

'You may be the _most_ maddening, egotistical god in the cosmos who says the first thing that comes into his flaming cranium..' Persephone sounded in a formidable voice, rapping the side of his head to emphasize her point before softening and continuing in a tender voice as she lent into him. '-but you'd _kill_ for me and that says more than any words ever could..' She then began kissing him sweetly, running her fingers upwards over his chest and across his shoulders, coaxing his blues flames to spread.. Hades broke off the kiss and gazed into his wife's eyes which shined with nothing but love.. Smirking at her the fiery god suddenly grasped her hips tightly then rolled over so now he was on top of her… then he leant into her and murmured,

'Happy anniversary babe..'

'Happy anniversary sweetie..' She replied softly before the two of them were kissing again.. As the kiss deepened Persephone's fingers buried themselves in Hades' flames and the god's fingers unhooked her chiton pin..

* * *

_Little Notes:_

_Hey Everybody, sorry this chapter has taken so long to post, it's gone through numerous rewrites because I wasn't satisfied with the writing… I hope not everybody hates Minthe too much, she's a victim of circumstance… after all I'm sure theirs a few of us who have seen our friends hook up with blokes they liked.. perhaps not on the same level as Minthe, but still.._

_This is not the end of the story… there's another chapter to go and I think it will be the last one.._

_Ok, the reason Hades has his 'no flaming girls' policy is because he never actually flames Meg in the film… he merely scares her into doing his bidding by flashing his temper… it shows a softer side to the god without him actually being soft… and the only reason he flamed the nymph is because he swore by the Styx to do it.. I don't think Seph would have accepted anything less.._

_Ooh, the end is tantalisingly close peeps…_

…_see ya real soon and don't forget to review.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


	8. The Return of the Underworld Queen

_Heya peeps, this short fanfic happens in between P.o.P and D.H.L… it's the same deal as the others, I don't own Hercules (Unfortunately) but I do own Persephone and other original characters and places that pop up during this short story…_

_I take things from both the film and series and remember, Disney twisted myths to create their storylines so I am tweaking some to make them fit the feel of Hercules…_

_Little hint: if you haven't read P.o.P you might get confused later on… enjoy and please review.. And please vote on my poll or you'll make the imps cry x x_

_**Godly Wife Insurance**_

_**Chapter Eight:**__**The Return of the Underworld Queen**_

A small group of gods were all crowded on the cloud above Elis looking down into the sparsely wooded area below. Having originally been enticed down from Olympus by the agonizing screams of Minthe, the gods had been expecting a show but they certainly hadn't expected it to be a peepshow... especially one starring Hades!

Ares gave a low whistle at the scene below before nudging Apollo, who was next to him, and flashing him a sly smirk..

'He's in for some lovin', eh?' Apollo smirked back amused, he had long since given up on Persephone after admitting that she and Hades suited each other.

'Well at least their marriage is back on track, that's all I'm gonna say on the subject..' Hermes turned adding cheerfully, pleased that Persephone and Hades had managed to work things out.

'Hmm… I wonder who Hades smote..' Zeus sounded curiously, sparing a glance towards the large ash pile not far from where the Lord of the Underworld had his missus pinned to the forest floor.

'Heh-heh, can't ask him right now, Hades looks like he's got his hands full..' Ares sounded cheerfully.

'I have a sneaking suspicion that it was probably a little naiad called Minthe..' Hermes drawled smirking amused.

'That cute little nymph?' Apollo sounded surprised..

'Yeh..' Ares drawled. '-hot body and rotten taste in blokes, I heard she had a little thing for him..' He gestured downwards towards Hades.

'Seriously?' Apollo blinked confused now… why were all the cute one's attracted to weirdoes and jerks? Hermes nodded, he had known Minthe as long as Persephone had and although he was sorry the nymph was dead he couldn't help but feel that somehow she'd asked for it..

The next second a female voice sounded causing all four gods to jump in surprise.

'And what are you four up to?' The four god's grinned what they hopped were innocent smiles but it looked like naughty little boys caught looking at something they knew they shouldn't be looking at.. Hera and her sister Demeter appeared out of a pink cloudy doorway. Hera had her slim lilac arms crossed tightly over her chest, looking firmly at her husband who looked the guiltiest out of all of them. Demeter meanwhile had turned her attention to what the boys had been looking at below..

'Oh for Gaia's sake!' She cried out upon seeing what her daughter and son-in-law were doing on the ground below… The Goddess of Nature then raised both her hands and did a swishing movement as both hands crossed each other. 'That's it! Shows over!' She cried out angrily as the trees of the thinly covered area crossed over each other blocking Hades and Persephone from view.

The gods present gave a sighing 'awww' in disappointment at this causing Demeter and Hera to place their hands on their hips simultaneously with matching scowls.

'Shame on you boys!' Hera sounded angrily scolding the group as one. 'They deserve some privacy!' She then marched over to the pink door and held it wide open. 'Now get back on Olympus now!' She cried gesturing them through the door.

'Party pooper..' Ares uttered about his mother causing Apollo to snicker amused.

'I heard that..' Hera frowned after them.

'Demeter honey..' Hermes was trying to appeal to the Nature Goddess. '-I swear to ya, I only came to see what happened with Minthe, I didn't come for _that_-' The green-skinned goddess merely held up a hand to silence him before sighing..

'Well at least they managed to work things out, that's all that matters..' She then glanced at Hera and her husband. 'Come on Hestia has the fire on and I'll get us a nice hot mug of nectar, autumn really isn't the season to be hanging around down here..'

'Oh now that sounds like a plan babe..' Hermes responded cheerfully then they disappeared off threw the door to Olympus.

'So..' Zeus sounded grinning at his wife with what was clearly a seductive leer and grabbing her slim hips.. '-what's say you and I-'

'I'm not in the mood..' Hera pouted folding her arms across her chest. Zeus frowned at her now.

'But Hades is getting some..' He whinged childishly in disbelief at the fact that his wife was turning him down.

'I don't care what Hades is getting, _you_ aren't getting anything off me..' Hera pulled herself away from her husband. '-honestly Zeus, spying on your brother, that's a new low even for you..' She then stalked off through the cloudy door in the huff.

'Oh come on Hera..' He sounded pleadingly approaching the cloudy door.

'I said _no!_' Her voice rang back angrily as the cloudy door slammed shut and vanished into a wispy puff. Zeus crossed his arms and slumped down on the cloudy floor in a sulk.

'I hate this freakin' cloud!' He uttered petulantly to himself and the cloud the god was sat on became an unhappy grey, matching his dark mood.

* * *

Meanwhile on the forest floor below, completely unaware of the goings on above them Persephone sighed contentedly wrapping her slim white arms around her husband's neck. Hades was still laid on top of her, protecting her from the cold with his flames. The goddess' face suddenly turned away from him to the canopy above and a smile curved her lips, her eyes lit up with surprise..

'Oh..' She sounded softly and Hades sat up and turned towards the canopy, his rounded eyes too looked surprised by what he saw. The trees that had been around them were now criss-crossed across the canopy above them, their golden leaves were dropping down like confetti upon them.

'Nice..' Hades gave an approving nod at the fact that the sky was now completely covered, no gods would be peaking through that.

'My mother must have done it-' Persephone sounded, leaning upwards to admire the goddess' handiwork. '-to give us some privacy.'

'Y'know, it's times like this I don't half mind havin' her as a mother-in-law..' Hades sounded in a musing tone before turning back to his wife as a small smile curved her lips. She made a noise of amusement, knowing this was as close to endearment as he would get to her mother. Persephone then pulled herself out from under her husband and wrapped herself back in her chiton before fluffing her hair and pulling bits of twig and dead leaves out.

'Sephy my sweet..' Hades' eyes narrowed as he plucked a twig that his wife had missed in her preening. '-what's say you and I head on home, huh baby.. Club Dead just ain't the same without my li'l wifey of Lifey by my side..' Although her husband's tone was _verry_ persuasive there was no need for it. At the mention of going home Persephone felt a pleasurable leap in her stomach, even though it had only been a week she had missed their Underworld home terribly… the gloomy darkness, the wonderfully tranquil Grove of Lethe, her big sookie drooly-puppy dog Cerberus.. but most of all she had missed the imps. Despite having Panic with her while separated from her husband Persephone had missed them as a set, they were the closet thing to kids she and Hades had.. and even though it was tough love on her husband's part she would always smother them in affection to make up for it..

'Ok..' She sounded keenly before adding.. '-just give me a moment sweetie..' Persephone's big green eyes then turned to the pile of ash that had once been her former friend. Hades blinked at her, knowing that she felt some small amount of pity for what she had done..

'Do you think I was a little harsh with her?' She sounded curiously, tilting her head to the side and studying the ash pile.

'What? Nahhh..' Hades drawled waving his hand in dismissal before batting the idea around and adding. '-well, ok maybe just a tiny iota babe but honestly, she totally asked for it..'

'Hmm, maybe..' Persephone mused thoughtfully still thinking her decision over… it had been a little hasty. '-but I still think it was a little excessive..'

'Pfft..' Hades snorted adding light-heartedly. '-so what? Gods overreact all the time… besides, she's toast now whatcha gonna do, huh?' He then swept over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. For a moment Persephone merely gazed at the ash on the forest floor then a smile curved her lips as an idea hit her.

'Perhaps I can make things a little better for her..' The young goddess sounded then lifted her hand and closed her fist tightly. Instantly her fingers glowed star-white as a small collection of tiny orbs swirled around the ash pile. Hades could only watch amazed as a tiny green shout burst out of the ash. Slowly it began to tremble upwards, guided by the minuscule balls of light. A tributary shoot branched off and as it grew in size more stems appeared.. leaves came next, as green as the nymph's hair had once been, and finally tiny little flowers budded into life. Persephone lowered her hand and admired her own creation. Minthe truly did make a pretty little plant.

'Isn't she lovely..' Persephone beamed picking up the plant and cradling it in her arms like a coveted treasure.

'Uh..' Hades looked unsurely at the plant, he didn't consider himself a great judge when it came to horticultural beauty. '-sure baby why not?'

'I think I'll rename her mint since she smells so sweet..' The young goddess then inhaled her sickly sweet smell and added thoughtfully. '-better place her in the Grove of Lethe so nobody can trample on her by accident.' She then turned to her husband smiling widely.

'Take me home Hades..' Persephone sounded complete with sultry pout.. Hades grinned widely at his wife before pulling her to him, careful not to crush the mint-plant.

'Heh, let's blow this popsicle stand..' He purred kissing her as they vanished into a curl of smoke.

* * *

'So..' Pain sounded carefully eyeing the boss and boss-lady who had they're arms wrapped around each other's waists and wearing identical contented smiles. '-you guys _aren't_ getting a divorce then?'

'What?' Persephone blinked confused then frowned. 'No, of course not..'

'Where in Tartarus didja hear a ridiculous thing like that?' Hades shot at them changing a brief shade of orange.

'Uh…' Pain looked nervously from Hades, who looked as though he were about to blow, to Persephone, who merely looked expectantly at him. '-Neurosis mighta said somethin' about it..' The pink imp stuttered nervously.

'Neurosis?' Persephone blinked surprised as Hades' left eye twitched as he attempted to suppress his boiling rage for a moment.

'Oh did he now..' The fiery god sounded in a bright breezy tone despite the nervous-tick in his eye. '-excuse me a moment.. I think I better go have a talk with _that_ imp..' The fiery god then turned on his head and headed into the next room.

'Well Pain, at least you were honest..' Persephone sounded scooping up both imps into her arms, cradling them like babies. 'Now how bout a tray of brownies for my little guys?' The goddess sounded in a sweet voice causing both imps to nod eagerly.

'Can I lick the beaters your attractiveness?' Pain sounded keenly .

'Of course..' Persephone trilled. 'Just remember to turn them off this time..'

As the young goddess carried the two imps off there was the sound of a distant yell of fury and an explosion came out from nowhere. For once Panic wasn't even remotely afraid.. instead he sat up a little and grinned lazily at his partner..

'What did I tell ya buddy..' He drawled content. '-everything is back to normal.'

_

* * *

_

Little notes:

_Hey Everybody, I hope you all enjoyed that little story as much as I had fun writing it for you… I know this chap was a little shorter than my usual length of chaps but there really wasn't a lot left to write after Minthe's demise at the end of the last chap._

_Thanks for reading peeps… don't forget to review.._

_Lot's of Love… Ditzy X_


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